Lake Winnetka Once Again
by kgraceb537
Summary: Two years later the Baker's are back at the lake! But not everything is happy-go-lucky around the memory ridden place, and with the prospect of a new family moving in and trouble fast approaching, things aren't looking too well. With all the drama going on, this summer spent together may just be their last. Chapters 1-3 now rewritten! T for safety.
1. Family Meeting

I re-wrote this chapter because I felt like it was too immature and not interesting enough… Hopefully now it is, though! If you click on this chapter and immediately don't like it, could you leave a review telling me why? 1,274 people read the first chapter, and only 673 people went on to the next chapter. I feel like my writing isn't good enough, and I'd really like feedback on what I need to improve on. Thank you!

"FAMILY MEETING! FAMILY MEETING!" Nigel and Kyle chanted as they danced down the upstairs hall, doing a little jig as they pounded on their sibling's bedroom doors. "Get up off your lazy butts!" Kyle yelled, a yellow bucket placed loosely on his head. "And come downstairs!" Nigel finished and the two twins giggled at their antics.

"Calm down, no need to scream at us. We're up." Henry rubbed sleep out of his eyes as he walked out of his cave. Then he picked up Kyle and Nigel and carried them like sacks of potatoes on his shoulders down the stairs. Henry was really strong and well-built; he was a lineman on his high school's football team, so he spent most of his free time bulking up or lifting weights in the Baker's home gym.

Kyle and Nigel laughed and pounded their chubby fists against Henry's back.

"Let us go!" Nigel giggled.

"Never!" Henry laughed maniacally and ran down the hall to the dining room.

"Henry, put the poor twins down and act like your age." Lorraine, who had come home from Texas Christian University for the holidays, stood at the top of the stairs with a toothbrush in her hand.

"Oh come on, I was only having a little fun." Henry put the kids down and ruffled their hair, to which they responded by escaping from his reach and running away. "Fun spoiler." He stuck his tongue out at Lorraine, who returned it.

Sarah walked out of her room like a zombie, her brown hair sticking up every which way. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty." Lorraine smirked and tried to smoothen out her sister's hair. Sarah swatted at the girl's hand. "Not in the mood." She grumbled.

"Awww, did wittle Sawah not have her proper beauty sleep?" Jake appeared from his room as he asked his 14 year older sister mockingly.

"Shut up and leave me alone." She retorted and stomped down the stairs. Then, realizing she had been a bit too harsh on her siblings, sighed and turned back to them. "I just didn't have a good sleep, I had another nightmare." She admitted sheepishly.

Lately Sarah had been having strange nightmares; some she remembered when she woke up and some she didn't. But she knew one thing; every single one of them involved hurricanes. And they all took place in important places from her life like her school or her childhood home or the art museum she visited on a field trip when she was 8. Sometimes she was with her family. Other times it was her best friends Grayson and Riley that were with her. And sometimes it was even random strangers she didn't know. And the hurricane would destroy everything in its path and suddenly everyone but her would disappear, and then something would be hurled at her from the wind like a branch or a car, and that's when the dream went black and she woke up. She never saw what happened afterwards. But before she could find out she would wake up in sweat with the sheets tangled around her legs.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jake asked her, becoming serious. He knew that her nightmares were not something to joke about. They were getting more serious by the day. They started in late February. She had told him when she had the first nightmare; he let her curl up next to him in his bed until she fell back asleep. He was the only person she told everything to; they were inseparable. After that whenever she had a nightmare it was always about the hurricane. Sarah had begun to nickname it "The Hurricane Dream" as she began to have it more frequently.

"Not really. It was the same dream I have every time." She grumbled and walked down the rest of the stairs and into the dining room.

"I'm worried about her." Lorraine sighed, and walked down the stairs to join the rest of the family.

"Yeah, me too." Jake mumbled under his breath and followed her down.

"Alright, listen up." Tom had gathered his family around the dining table and was now standing next to his wife, Kate, holding hands with her. The kids quieted down at the sound of their father's voice.

"You all remember Lake Winnetka, right?" The father received many 'yes's and nods of the head.

"Well guess what? Your mother and I decided that we're going back there this summer!" He raised his hands triumphantly, and when he heard no cheers he looked expectantly at his children. They looked at each other with troubled looks on their faces.

Kate sensed something was wrong and frowned. "Guys, what's wrong? I thought you'd be thrilled about the news!" Their mother asked them. The children fidgeted in their seats uncomfortably.

"It's not that we aren't, mom," Lorraine spoke up.

"Yeah, we are!" Kim piped up.

"I think that everyone feels that the Murtaugh children might have moved on from us, and changed for the worse. You know, with living with that old, stuck-up father they have, who wouldn't?" Kim's twin, Jessica, finished for her.

Tom sighed. "Hey, you know he's changed! After the Labor Day Race, he loosened up a lot. And I bet his children would've stuck up for themselves if he didn't, just like they did on that same day." He reminded his children.

"How can you be sure?" Mark asked worriedly. He missed his partner-in-crime Kenneth. They had always been getting into trouble together the day they met. Not that Mark particularly liked being a troublemaker, Kenneth was his friend. And he didn't have a whole lot of friends at his new school. What if Kenneth had changed? Then he would have nobody.

Tom smiled at his son. "Don't worry, I just know. The Murtaughs will love seeing you again! Come on, how can you know whether or not they've changed if you don't go and find out?" He asked his children, who all murmured agreement or shrugged.

"When are we leaving, and how long will we be there?" Sarah asked quietly, a small tinge of hope was edged into her voice. She was thinking about someone in particular, and she hoped that nobody had heard how her voice was a bit higher than usual.

"We'll leave next Thursday, which gives you less than a week to get packed and ready. And for how long we'll be staying… Well, we're actually staying for the whole summer." Tom said, a bit nervous. He hoped it wasn't too much for his kids to ask for their whole entire summer. "All summer?" Kyle and Nigel chorused together as their eyes widened excitedly. Everyone started to buzz in excitement; only a few were complaining.

"Are you serious, dad?" Lorraine yelled over the noise, looking at her mother and father with an incredulous look. "You can't expect me to give up my whole summer, can you? What about my roommate Alexis? We're going to Italy together in early July, and I'm certainly not missing out on that opportunity!"

Kate laughed and tried to get her third born child to calm down. "Relax, Lorr. You have a car, right? And you're what, 19? Going on 20 in a few months." She reminded her. "We can't force you to do anything. You can leave in your car to Italy whenever you'd like; we can't hold you back like we could two years ago." She reassured her daughter, who looked relieved that she didn't have to even put up a fight.

"Wait, wait, wait." Mike held up his hands for his parents to listen. "She can leave when she wants but I can't?" He interrupted. "That's so unfair!"

Tom and Kate looked at his son. "You're only 11 sweetie. Besides, I thought you of all people would love to go on this trip! You haven't seen the Murtaughs in ages, and you and Elliot and Jake and Sarah used to do everything together! What makes you say it's unfair?" He asked his rebellious son.

Mike crossed his arms. "Well what if they've changed? If they aren't the same and they don't like hanging out with us anymore than I want to go home." The other children agreed in sync

Tom sighed. "Alright, fine. If the Murtaughs aren't who they used to be then we can leave. But until you prove that, do you all agree to go?"

Ten yeses rang through the hall, and that began the sequel to the Lake Winnetka adventure.

Yeah, it's not great. But I assure you this story will get better over the chapters! A bit of drama and romance. Please review, it means so much to me! But seriously, I don't care how harsh you are if you critic my work. I really need it, no matter how insulting and blunt it is. Please?


	2. Packing Up

**Assuming someone's reading this, thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Please review though, I don't know if anyone actually is taking the time to read my sucky story, but I want to know before I continue posting more chapters. Anyways, enjoy!**

Jake Baker woke up to the sound of bags zipping, pots and pans clattering, and a whole lot of screaming. Typical. "WHERE'S MY CINDY JANE? I CAN'T FIND HER AND I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HER!" Kim screamed at the top of her lungs as she searched desperately throughout the whole house. "I made waffles! Come and get them!" Kate yelled from downstairs. "You mean you haven't packed at all? Nigel, Kylie, what on Earth were you two thinking leaving it to the last minute?" Jake heard his father scold the twins at the bottom of the stairs. "LORRAINE!" He then screamed. "HELP YOUR BROTHERS NIGEL AND KYLE PACK PLEASE!" "Dad, can't you get Jake to do it or something? I'm still packing as well!" Lorraine yelled back. "Has everyone in this house lost their minds?" The children's father yelled. "I haven't daddy, I'm fully packed and ready to go!" Jake heard Sarah say sweetly as she crossed into the main hall. "Sarah, you aren't bringing your board?" Mike asked her, and Sarah gasped. "I totally forgot about it!" And Jake heard Sarah run back upstairs.

A few moments later his door was thrown open by Sarah, who was already dressed in shorts and a tie dyed v-neck she made with her friends last week, wearing her ratty old sneakers she always wore, and carrying her skateboard in one hand and a waffle in the other. "Wake up, sleepyhead." She threw the covers off her closest sibling, who groaned and buried his head into his pillow, shivering. The only thing he was wearing was a pair of blue boxers and grey socks and he liked to keep his room as cold as Antarctica.

"Get dressed and bring your bags down, were leaving in fifteen minutes. Here, I brought you a waffle." She tossed what he thought to be the waffle towards his face, which landed only a few inches from his nose. The smell of the homemade waffle got him up and he quickly popped the whole thing in his mouth. Sarah wasn't fazed by this, being the tomboy she was. "Hurry up," she commanded and rushed out of the room. "Sir yes sir!" He yelled back over a mouthful of waffle, only to hear her giggle as she ran down the stairs.

Coming down exactly ten minutes later with his bags, Jake was dressed in black basketball shorts and a white shirt that was a hand-me-down from Charlie. His father passed him on the way out the door to the van with three duffel bags in hand. "Come on son, load your bags up we don't have time to sit around!" His father's tone had a tinge of frustration, and Jake knew he was stressed out enough as it was. "Sure, dad." He grabbed his own bag and made his way across their expanse of backyard to the van.

Jake returned inside to find Kim and Mike arguing. "Give her back!" Kim yelled and chased Mike around the house, him carrying her Cindy Jane doll and laughing. Mike ran up the stairs, shouting "I'm going to drop her from up here, look out below!" Kim screamed from the bottom of the stairs and watched in horror as he dangled the smiling, china doll over the railing. Jake, used to daily arguments like this, decided to intervene. "Mike, give her the doll back! If you want a Cindy Jane so badly, go buy one yourself." He taunted with a smirk. Mike made a face and Jake knew he hit a soft spot. "Ew, gross! Why would I want a Cindy Jane doll?" He dropped the doll before realizing what he did. Kim screamed again. Jake dived for the glass toy and caught it with both his hands, inches before it reached its doom. "Careful, Mike!" He growled to his brother as he got up, his stomach a bit sore from the dive. "Here you go, Kim." He gave the Cindy Jane doll back to her. "Take care of her or else next time she'll be taped to a firework." He rolled his eyes at Mike, who grinned mischievously. "Thanks for the idea, Jake!" He replied, already thinking of evil schemes as he ran downstairs and outside.

Suddenly Tom was by Jake's side, cupping his hands around his mouth. The traditional way to get the attention of the Baker Family. "Alright everyone, get in the car now! We're on a tight schedule and we have to go! Come on, get a move on!" Tom ushered everyone out the door, pushing and shoving them outside and towards the van. Kate and Lorraine buckled in the twins as everyone else piled into the van.

"Wait! I can't sit next to Mike! He'll pinch me the whole way!" Jessica complained.

"Mom, Mark's pushing on my seat!" Sarah complained.

"Am not! My feet are on the floor!"

"Are too! Why couldn't I have rode with Lorraine? It's not fair since I'm practically the only teenage girl here!"

"I'm hungry! When's lunch?" Henry asked questioningly. Although Henry ate a considerably large amount of food for a teenage boy, he had slimmed down a lot after joining the football team, and it seemed that he was now hungry all the time.

"Oww, Nigel poked me." Kyle stated and poked his brother back.

"Owww, Kyle poked me now." Nigel giggled, and the two began a poking fight.

"Is it too late to turn back?" Tom joked as he backed out of the driveway, and Kim laughed her golden laugh that always brought a smile to Tom's face. "Hey, it's either this vacation is now or never!" Was all she replied with.

**Yeah, this was basically just a filler. But I enjoyed writing it(: Please review!**


	3. Newfound Feelings

**Read and review please! (:**

"The lake! We're here!" Jake yelled and pressed his nose on the window of the van as he gazed at the lake eagerly.

"No need to yell, Jakey boy. We're all right here." Tom snorted as he pulled into the driveway to their lake house. It had been renovated by Charlie, who decided to stay here at the lake while his family went back home. He had started up his own fix it shop for cars in this town, and with all the skills he had learned from the job he had eventually decided to repair the old house with the extra funds he collected. The large family had only seen pictures of the new house, but in front of them now was the real deal.

Speak of the devil, Charlie leaned on the railing of the new porch and watched his family pour out of the van and swarm him. He chuckled as he was tackled by ten children and his mother and father.

"How are you, Charlie?" Lorraine asked her big brother excitedly.

"We haven't seen you since spring break!" Henry smiled up at his mentor and hero; Henry and Charlie had been the closest, so Henry didn't take it too easily when Charlie decided to stay.

"Alright, alright, save the questions for later! Right now I need all of you children to grab your bags and unpack. You mom will make us a lovely lunch and then we can all catch up." Tom waved his children away from the house and to the car, where they began to unload all 21 bags.

Somebody rang the doorbell. "I got it!" Mark yelled over the commotion of noise that had once again ruled over the lake house. He threw his book onto the coffee table and moved towards the door. He swung open the door to reveal a familiar, 14 year old girl.

"Mark!" Her eyes lit up excitedly. It took a few moments for the boy to recognize who she was and how she knew him; he squinted up at her through his glasses before realization spread across his face and he lit up.

"Becky! Wow, you've changed since I last saw you! I almost didn't recognize you." Mark replied courteously, and Becky blushed, clearly flattered. And he was right. Becky's hair had grown longer and she looked to be wearing a little bit of makeup. Plus she had grown a lot taller than the little 12 year old Mark had known two years ago. It also seemed that she managed to get rid of the overly flowery and frilly dresses her dad forced her to always wear; she was dressed in white shorts, a pink blouse, and flip flops.

"Yeah, so have you! You've gotten a lot taller. But anyways, sorry I got sidetracked; can I speak to your dad? My dad wants to invite you all over for dinner tonight." Becky explained, anxiously tugging on a piece of her hair.

"Sure, let me go get hi- and he's here." As Mark talked Tom appeared from the kitchen and greeted Becky warmly.

"It's so nice to see you again! What brings you here?" Tom asked.

"My father wants to invite you all over for dinner tonight on our deck. He's said he won't take no for an answer, and it's an informal sort of occasion, I guess, so he told me to tell you to wear whatever you guys would like." Becky explained again.

Tom smiled cordially. "Of course we'll be there! Tell him I said that we won't promise to be trouble-free, knowing our kids, but we'll make it for sure." He told the girl.

Jake appeared from his bedroom at the sound of someone at the door, and as he stepped into view his jaw dropped at the sight Becky. She looked beautiful. Jake couldn't help it as his heart fluttered at the sight of her. Becky caught his eyes and smiled shyly, and he waved back to her in shock.

"Well, we better go get ready, so thanks for the offer!" Tom blocked his view of Becky as he shook her hand politely, and Jake craned his neck to at least take one last good look at her before she was gone. It was too late; Tom had closed the door and turned when he caught sight of Jake.

He raised his eyebrows as he saw his son with his neck stretched as far as it could go and looking regretfully at the door. Jake blushed feverishly and ducked back into the kitchen, ignoring his father's stare.

**This chapter's like a follow-up of what's to come! This pairing will also be a big part in this story, and this won't be the end of them! Trust me, I have a lot of drama in store, I just can't wait to get it all started! (: Xx.**


	4. Closer Than Ever Before

**Thank you so much nina for reviewing! When I saw that my story had a review I started freaking out… haha(: At least there's one person out there reading my story! I'm updating just for you!**

Sarah looked at her reflection nervously. She was finally getting to see Elliot after two years, and she was terrified of what could go wrong. He could've found someone else he liked, he could've turned into a jerk, he could've even completely forgotten about her! She took a shaky breath to settle her thoughts and analyzed her reflection. She was wearing a white blouse and dark wash jean shorts, with her hair down and curly and her trustworthy sneakers she never left the house without. She bit her lip and wondered if Elliot would think she was trying too hard.

Suddenly the door opened and Lorraine came in, wearing a flowy navy sundress and enormous sunglasses delicately placed on her head. She stopped and smiled at Sarah proudly.

"You look beautiful." She told her younger sister, who blushed and smiled timidly.

"You don't think it's too much?" she asked worriedly, and Lorraine shook her head as she sat on Sarah's bed.

"Not at all! Don't change anything, it's perfect." She told her, to which Sarah felt relieved. They sat in silence, Sarah wanting to ask her something but too afraid to.

"Something on your mind, kiddo?" Lorraine knew her sister all too well. Sarah remained silent for a few moments. Then she took in a sharp breath and let it out.

"What if he doesn't like me?" She asked quickly, her eyes darting to the door to make sure no one else had heard her.

"I knew it was something about Elliot." Lorraine smirked, and Sarah quickly hushed her, running to her door and closing it.

"Be quiet! I don't want anyone else to hear!" She said in almost a whisper.

"Why not?"

"Because. They wouldn't think of my as their best friend anymore. Instead I'll be their annoying sister that has a crush on their other friend. It's complicated."

"By them do you mean Mike and Jake?"

Sarah nodded. The three of them did everything together, be it skateboarding, swimming, or even eating. It couldn't be done without anyone of them absent. They were like the three amigos. And if they knew she was still crushing on Elliot, they'd act different around her and things wouldn't be the same.

"Chill out, they know you're a girl and that you're eventually going to be dating. You should take advantage of having them as friends and get advice from them. I know I would."

At that Sarah looked appalled. "Them? Are you serious? They're… But…that's awkward!" She replied and shook her head vigorously.

"Alright, fine, back to the subject." Lorraine patted the spot on the bed next to her. Sarah reluctantly took it.

"How could he ever not like you? You're gorgeous! Besides, when we were here two years ago, he couldn't take his eyes off you. And back then you didn't wear any makeup and dressed like a guy." That comment received a playful punch in the arm by Sarah.

"What I'm trying to say-" giving her sister a warning look, she continued. "is that you shouldn't worry. Whatever happens, happens. So don't look into it too far. You tend to do that often." She smiled at Sarah, who returned it hesitantly.

"Thanks. You've helped me a lot these past two years, especially when it comes to boys and looks and makeup and stuff." Sarah looked down at her hands.

"No problem, it's kind of fun being an advice guru." She joked, and Sarah laughed along with her.

"Now come on, dad's waiting for us. Time to go see what happened to the Murtaugh's without us there."

Sarah gulped and shakily followed her sister out, although the only thing she wanted to do was curl into a ball under her covers and stay there until morning.

**Sisterly love(: Read and review please!**


	5. Reuniting

**Since the other chapter was just basically a follow-up and REALLY short, I decided to upload two at the same time. Enjoy!**

"Welcome, welcome, it's so good to see you!" Sarina cooed with a kind smile on her face as she and the rest of the Murtaughs stood at the top of The Boulders' steps, staring nervously down at the Baker family. Sarah caught eyes with Elliot and saw him staring at her with a huge smile on his face. She smiled back, if not a little shyly.

He had changed a lot. He had grown at least a foot taller, and his teeth were perfectly straight, making her guess he had gotten braces. His hair was still spiky like it was two years ago, which strangely comforted Sarah. He was wearing khaki pants and a white button up shirt, his hands in his pockets. Same looks, but was he still the same Elliot she had known and loved? Before she could say anything to him, the Bakers were hurried over to the deck out in the back overlooking the lake. A huge, white-clothed table was set up in the middle of the deck with golden lights hanging on poles overhead. A mini bar was pushed into a corner for the adults, and Lorraine rushed over there immediately.

"I'm glad you came, Tom, we haven't done something like this in ages." Jimmy Murtaugh patted Tom's back whole-heartedly as all of the children began to reunite and hug and talk animatedly about what they were going to do all summer. In the sea of heads, Sarah searched for one in particular, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder from behind, and she whirled around.

"Sarah!" Elliot's eyes were filled with joy and she was just as equally happy.

"Elliot!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him, two year's worth of emotion overruling her.

He pulled away and held her at arm's length. "Want to go someplace quieter?" He asked, and she nodded her head. He smiled and grabbed her head to guide her over to a corner.

Away from everyone else, Elliot smiled and looked her up and down as if this was all a dream and she wasn't actually there in front of him. "I can't believe your back!" He voiced his thoughts, resisting the urge to hug her again. She laughed and his body leaped joyfully at the sound of it.

"Me too! I can't believe we're back."

"You've changed a bit." He laughed nervously.

"So have you! It's crazy…" She trailed off as she looked more closely at him, her smile sort of fading. Sure, he had changed a bit on the outside. But she still wasn't sure if he changed on the inside or not. He sensed something was wrong and his stomach knotted itself automatically; he was never good at telling what someone felt based on their actions.

"I-is something wrong?" He asked worriedly.

Sarah bit her lip and wouldn't look into his eyes. "It's just… I'm just… Let's get right to the point. D-do you still like me? Like, I mean… What are we going to be this summer? Friends, or…." She trailed off again and looked to the floor.

Elliot took a step forward and lifted her chin up; he was new to the whole romance thing being only 14, but he sensed it was the right thing to do. "Sarah, you worry too much! Of course I still like you; I think I like you even more if that's possible. Absence makes the heart grow fonder." He joked before continuing. "You're beautiful, and the moment I looked at you tonight, I knew I still had feelings for you. And I hope you do too. And to what we'll be… We can be anything you want us to be, and whatever your choice is I'll happily agree to. It's your decision." His hand grazed her chin before he lowered it slowly. For some reason Sarah was disappointed when he did.

But then she let out a breath of relief, feeling as if 100 pounds were lifted off her chest. "Elliot, I still like you too! I had been worried ever since I found out we were going back on vacation here that you wouldn't like me anymore, but it's the complete opposite! And, I mean, we don't have to rush into things this very second, but I'd kind of like to be more than friends. You know, like last time?" She bit her lip nervously, which drove him crazy.

He succumbed all of his teenage hormones that told him to kiss her right then and there, after the ten minutes they'd reunited and smiled brightly at her. "Of course I'd like to! In fact, would you like to hang out with me tomorrow? I'm not sure where, but anywhere that I can be with you is fine with me."

Sarah couldn't help but find his smile charming and quickly nodded her head. "Sure, I'd love to!" She giggled.

**So, what'd you think? Too much fluff? Or does it just sound awkward in general? Review! (:**


	6. Love is In The Air That, And Paint Too

**Thank you sooo much for reviewing Cheyennnne! I really appreciate that there's another fan out there reading(:**

Meanwhile, as Sarah was catching up with her first love, Jake sat around the table squished between Nigel and Kyle. He was staring longingly at Becky as she laughed at whatever little Jessica had just said. His whole body ached to go over there right now and ask her out. But he knew he couldn't! How could he? It was only the first day, and the constant fear of rejection held him back. He sighed, wishing he was like one of his brothers who could ask a girl out without even breaking a sweat. But he was born too darn shy.

Trying to get Becky out of his mind, he turned his attention to his brothers and sisters. The only people missing were Mark and Kenneth, and sensing them, they weren't up to any good. Before he could even ask where they were he was interrupted by a sound of quiet chiming of a fork against a glass. He turned to the direction of the noise and saw Anne holding the glass and fork and grinning from ear to ear, with Charlie at her shoulder. Everyone settled down and looked expectantly at the two.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Charlie and I have some news to tell you all." Anne told them excitedly.

Charlie dangled his arm across Anne's shoulder and told the news. "Anne and I are getting married."

Everyone gasped at what Charlie said. The two families quickly broke into congratulations and cheers for the couple, who smiled at everyone and thanked them.

"Oh, my little Charlie!" Kate gasped. "I'm so proud of you! When are you planning on the wedding?" She asked as she got up and hugged both Charlie and Anne, with Sarina and the other children quickly following her lead.

After everyone had hugged the fiancés, Charlie ordered them all to sit down as he had even more news. Once they followed the orders, he began again.

"Actually, we were wondering if we could throw the wedding here, at the lake." Charlie offered the idea hopefully. This news brought on even more cheers and congratulations.

"Oh, that is a wonderful idea!" Sarina clapped her hands giddily and Kate agreed enthusiastically.

"If it isn't too much to ask, we sort of wanted to get married at the lake around August, if it's okay with you guys?" Anne asked questioningly, to which eighteen 'yeses' were shouted almost immediately, minus Kenneth and Mark who were nowhere near the two families.

"This will be so fun! Sarina and I can help Anne plan the whole thing, and we'll pick a theme and send out invitations…" Kate trailed off as she began to daydream of the perfect wedding.

"Speaking of themes, I say we do a whole vineyard theme since the lake would add perfectly to the regal feel of it. We can also have a photo shoot before the ceremony in the Coffer's nearby vineyard. Surely he'll allow us." Jimmy offered up.

Kate wrinkled her nose at the idea but before she could reply Tom butted in.

"Absolutely not! We'll do a rustic wedding theme with bird's nests as the flower baskets and have sunflowers as decorations on the tables."

Jimmy gave Tom an odd look. "No, the vineyard theme is much more classic." He smiled forcefully at Tom.

"But the rustic theme is unique and different; it's better than one of those classic, boring themes." Tom shot back.

"Boring? You're calling my theme boring? At least my theme doesn't revolve around farms." Jimmy dropped his smile and glared at his former enemy.

"Oh, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Jim. I was just stating a fact. And it doesn't revolve around farms, it's all about the countryside which is way much better than your-" Tom began but was quickly cut off by Charlie.

"Hey, pops! No need to get worked up. I'm sure we can vote on themes later." Charlie promised the two fathers, who nodded begrudgingly and sat back.

"Yeah, and I'm not even sure I want a theme. Maybe a simple, standard wedding will suit better for everyone." Anne agreed with her fiancé.

A few moments of tense silence followed after the small argument.

Then, Jimmy looked guiltily up at Tom. "Sorry for snapping. I guess my old, competitive genes decided to come back." He apologized.

Tom smiled at him kindly. "No harm done. And sorry for snapping back, I didn't mean anything I said about your theme."

"And neither yours." Jimmy reassured.

"Okay good, now that you two have forgiven each other, Jimmy, dear, go grab the best wine bottle you can find down in the cellar. This calls for a celebration!" Sarina smiled as Jimmy left and came back up a few minutes later with three Bordeaux bottles to share around. Rumor was it was the most expensive bottles in the world. As Jimmy and Sarina poured all of the legal aged drinkers a glass of wine, somebody shouted "Look out!"

All eighteen of the Murtaughs and Bakers looked up to see ten gallons of forest green paint hurtling from two stories up coming straight down at them. Screams and gasped escaped some of their throats as they tried to escape in time, though to no avail. Green paint hurdled down and drenched the white table and the two family's clothes, leaving everyone covered from head to toe in sticky, wet paint.

"Oops." Kenneth said, barely audible from two stories up inside the second dining room with Mark next to him.

**Haha, that's my idea of a prank that the boys would do. I couldn't think of any other pranks, and this one is a bit unrealistic. But whatever(: enjoy!**


	7. Accident Prone

"It was an accident, I promise!" Kenneth told his dad repeatedly as all 11 Baker children climbed into the van, the green paint on their clothes beginning to dry. Kenneth continued with his story although he had repeatedly at least four times. "The tin of paint was just sitting there on the balcony and Mark was throwing the football at me, and so I backed up and ended up kicking the paint over the balcony and down on you guys! It wasn't my fault though; those construction workers should have cleaned up the extra paint from the dining room's renovation." The guilty boy finished weakly. Jimmy gave his son a small smile to ease his guilt before turning to Tom and Kate.

"Once again, it seems that we've yet to have a proper meal with your family, looking after 20 mischeveous children and all." Tom chuckled, and Jimmy eyed his former enemy and began to laugh with him.

"Yeah, well I suppose half of them are mine so it's not you to entirely blame. This time." Jimmy joked, and Tom smiled at that.

"Yeah, we'll see about that." He replied, finally feeling as if he and Jimmy had maybe just become friends.

"Hey, well at least it keeps us on our feet." Jimmy shrugged and smiled light-heartedly.

And boy was he right.

**Probably one of the shortest chapter's there will ever be in this story(: Review!**


	8. Big Brother Advice

**For those of you not 13 or older, I strongly suggest not reading this chapter. It's a bit… racy(; but I promise the rest of you it's probably the only chapter that will have content like this.**

Jake smiled as a certain 14 year old girl flashed across his mind. His body shivered in pleasure as he thought about the girl in his dreams.

"_Don't leave me, stay here." Becky whispered in his ear, her lips barely touching him. She was sitting on her bed with him; although both were clothed._

_Jake nodded as if in a daze as she pulled him closer. She ran her hands through his hair as she kissed him softly up his neck and around to his ear. He gasped in delight as he tried to restrain himself from ripping her clothes off. He could still feel the spots where her lips met his skin even when she had pulled away. She moved her hands from his hair to under his shirt and ran her hands up his stomach muscles. _

_Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and he pushed her gently onto the bed. He lay on top of her and began to kiss her neck while working down to her stomach. She let out a soft moan of delight and Jake smiled onto her skin. As he kept kissing her, she ripped his shirt off and let his bare stomach touch her skin. Then she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, letting out another soft moan._

Jake opened his eyes and tried to register where he was. There was no Becky, and he was in his bedroom, not hers. That was when he realized it was a dream, and he couldn't help but feel disappointed. Jake realized his legs were tangled in his sheets and his forehead was damp with sweat. He quickly yanked the covers off him and sat up, running his hand through his soaked hair. His stomach knotted with guilt, wondering if that was even normal for a 14 year old boy to think about. _Oh god, I'm a pervert!_ He realized and flopped back into his bed. He desperately felt like talking to someone about it. Jake glanced at the clock and noticed it was 8:45. Surely Charlie was awake? He took a deep breath and got up.

"Charlie?" Jake poked his head into his older brother's room. A shadow of a boy sat up from his bed, not seen by the lack of light in the room.

"Jake, is that you?" Charlie asked, to which Jake nodded and emerged fully into the room. He stood there, fiddling his thumbs.

"What's up?" Charlie yawned loudly and rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"I-I need to talk to you about something…" Jake drifted off and wondered how he would ever explain this and not sound like a creep to his brother.

Charlie sat up and looked at him expectantly.

"Ummm, well… I had a dirty dream about Becky." He said so quietly that not even he could hear.

"Dude, speak up I can't hear." Charlie told him.

Jake glanced around the room before quickly shutting the door. Then he took a shaky breath. "I had a dirty dream about Becky." He repeated, feeling ashamed. Even saying it made him cringe.

Charlie burst into laughter which made Jake a bit irritated. "It's not funny!" He told his other brother crossly.

Charlie tried to talk but couldn't and he clutched his ribs as he couldn't control his laughter. Jake huffed at his brother and waited for him to regain self control. "Never mind, I'll just go find someone else to talk to." Jake growled and turned to leave.

"No wait." Charlie said as he forced back another fit of laughter. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself!" He motioned for Jake to come back. Jake glowered at his brother but walked closer. "I was only laughing because well, you're my brother. And anyways, you're overreacting. Every guy has at least a couple dirty dreams during his teenage years! I know I had at least a dozen." He smirked at the memory.

Jake felt his stomach unclench and relief washed over him. "Good. But, what do I do about it? I mean, it'll be awkward being around her because I'll always remember the dirty dream and then I'll get a… you know. And she'll see it or something." He shifted uncomfortably in his brother's gaze.

Charlie bit his lip to keep from laughing. He swallowed and turned serious. "Listen, what I think you should do is just ask her out. It's obvious you like her so why not? The worst that can happen is she says no, but you guys can still be friends. And I think those dreams are only going to get worst if you don't." He advised.

Jake's eyes widened. Ask her out? He didn't think he had the guts to! "But, but, I'm sort of afraid of rejection. If she says no, it'll be even awkward than me thinking about my dirty dreams around her! I think I'd rather just stay friends, to avoid the embarrassment."

Charlie sighed. "But if you don't ask her out, eventually you'll regret it when we leave and you'll never know if she would have said yes or not."

Jake nodding, understanding that his brother was probably right.

"Thanks," he said, sighing. "I appreciate the advice. But I guess all I can do is go back to bed and see if I can catch a bit more sleep." He got up and walked to the door.

"Say hi to Becky for me!" Charlie joked with a laugh.

**Soooo? Was it too on the rebellious side to include this chapter? I had mixed feelings putting this up… ahh, well. Read and review!**


	9. The Chizzler

**Wait. What? What? Oh my gosh I love you all! I stopped updating this story after awhile because nobody was reading but today I decided to get on just for the heck of it and I got 6 WHOLE REVIEWS! Guys, you have no idea how much that means to me, I thought nobody even read my story! Ahhhhh! But on a side note, I haven't continued this story for a long time now and I just realized how much I've improved on my writing. Seriously, I have a lot of typos in this story and the chapters are SO. SHORT. So, I apologize for it being very immature. If I decide to continue this I promise you my writing will definitely be better. Just to let you all know how much I appreciate yall, I'm gonna post three new chapters! Yay! Again, thank you so much. It really means a lot.3**

"THE CHIZZLER! IT'S THE CHIZZLER! HE HAS MY CREDIT CARD!" Kate hollered as she barged out of the kitchen with a broom in her hand. Dodging right past her went the Chizzler, towards his hole. 12 heads swirled in the direction of the rat, and chaos ensued.

"SURROUND THE HOLE! SURROUND THE HOLE!" Tom shouted at his children as they scrambled for the rat.

Jake and Mike jumped in front of the hole with their skateboards blocking the entrance as the rest of the children including Kate and Tom formed a lopsided circle around the sneaky, black rat who was avoiding everyone's feet as it leapt onto the coffee table and down its side. "HURRY! DON'T LET IT ESCAPE!"

Sarah stepped boldly in front of the rat, which halted immediately. Before the rat could turn around, all 11 children circled around the Chizzler.

"I got Gunner!" Henry announced, holding the drooling dog's collar back from attacking or even eating the Chizzler. Gunner looked hungrily at the rat with greedy eyes.

"Alright, now everyone gradually get closer." Tom ordered quietly, talking slower with every word.

Everyone, with Jake and Mike now joining the circle against the wall, slowly crept forward. The rat looked around desperately for an escape, the card still in its mouth.

"Alright, on the count of three, everyone goes for the credit card, alright?" Tom told them and everyone nodded. "One…two-"

Suddenly the Chizzler dropped the credit card and launched at Lorraine, who screamed and jumped away in shock. The rat took the chance and darted around everyone's feet and into the hole before anyone could react, leaving its treasure on the ground. "My credit card!" Kate sighed in relief and picked it up off the dusty floor.

Everyone let out a gulp of air and broke apart the circle.

"I'm surprised that stupid rat is still here after I put that hole in the wall." Jake snorted.

Tom shrugged. "Oh well, at least we fixed that hole, and at least Kate has her credit card again."

"Pops, don't you think we should call an exterminator already?" Charlie asked impatiently.

"NO! You can't kill the rat, no matter how much trouble it gets into! That rat might have a family somewhere, and we can't just kill it!" Mark complained with tears in his eyes.

Tom put a reassuring hand on Mark's shoulder. "Don't worry, we won't kill the rat. But we have to do something to make it leave; we can't just let it steal from us. Remember how much stuff we found in that wall after Jake put a hole there? What if he's collected even more over the years?"

Mark bit his lip and looking up pleadingly at his dad. "Please don't hurt it… We can come up with another idea." He told his family.

"Like what?" Jessica asked him curiously.

"Well…What if I set up a cage next to the hole filled with cheese? Then I could trap him and keep him as a pet!" Mark brightened at his idea.

Tom ran a hand through his hair and pondered his son's idea. "I don't know, if the Chizzler escapes into our house after you catch it, we'll never get that rat to leave us alone."

"Please dad? I'll train it and everything! I'll make sure it doesn't escape!" Mark promised.

Tom sighed. "Fine, you can try it." He eventually agreed.

"Thank you, dad!" Mark hugged his father. "I'll set the trap up now!"


	10. Fairytale Moment

**Okay, I know most of you wanted a Sarah/Elliot moment so here you guys go. No need to thank me(;**

Later that day, Sarah sat on the stairs of the gondola dressed in shorts and a t-shirt with Elliot by her side. They had been swimming in the lake with the rest of their families, but Elliot had pulled her away and the two of them headed to the gondola that Charlie and Anne had found last time the Bakers were at the lake.

"So, you excited for the wedding?" Elliot flashed a smile as he used a stick to scratch the muddy ground in front of him.

"Yeah, I am. I can't believe that my brother and your sister are getting married, though. It seems kind of crazy, doesn't it?" She laughed. "Although, my mom and your step mom are pretty stressed about it; they only have until the end of summer to plan the whole thing."

Elliot nodded in agreement. "Ehh, they'll get it done though, knowing them. I'll be surprised if they don't finish in time. Sarah… You know how there's going to be a lot of people, right?" He asked, and Sarah nodded, confused.

"And you know how everyone's allowed to bring a date, right? I heard Kate and Sarina talking about how some of the kids our age were bringing dates. And, well, I was just wondering, if maybe, you know, you might want to go to the wedding with me as my date?" He asked a bit nervously.

Sarah laughed. "Elliot, you worry too much!" Sarah repeated what Elliot had told her the first night they reunited. "Of course I'll go with you to the wedding! We're dating in case you forgot." She playfully nudged him in the arm, and he nudged her back. Then Sarah dug her hands into the mud in front of them and smeared it all over Elliot's arm. He jumped back in surprise before getting a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Oh, it's on!" The two jumped up and backed away from each other, scooping up mud as they did so. Elliot was quicker and he grabbed a sopping handful of mud and threw it towards his girlfriend. Sarah screamed as the cold mud made contact with her face.

She blindly threw mud back at him and he dodged it easily. "Come on, Baker! You throw like my grandmother!" He teased until he was quickly shut up as a pile of mud hit him square in the chest.

"You were the one that wanted to play hard!" Sarah laughed and threw more mud towards his direction.

Elliot suddenly dived towards Sarah and smeared mud across her cheeks. She shrieked in delight and dumped a clump of mud over his head. Both of them laughed as he attempted to scrape the mud from his hair.

Suddenly he wiped a glop of mud from his hair onto her lips and she spat and tried to get it away from her mouth. "Hey, that's not fair!" She playfully whined as she continued to spit.

Elliot smiled adoringly at her and pulled her close. He looked at her without blinking for a few moments and Sarah found herself lost in his eyes. And then he leaned in slowly, his eyes moving towards her lips, and he kissed her. Sarah closed her eyes and melted into the too perfect moment. His lips formed to hers as he draped his arms around her waist and her hands reached to his hair. A pool of heat formed in the pit of Sarah's stomach and her skin itched for his closeness as she kissed him back even harder.

Elliot pulled back when he could no longer breathe, and the both of them took in a gasps of air. Sarah felt as if she was a spark of energy; she felt like the happiest girl alive. Elliot looked at her anxiously.

"I'm sorry. I-I couldn't control myself! I was looking at you and you looked… gorgeous and I just, lost control and my hormones took over and I just-" Elliot began but Sarah shushed him.

"No need." She replied earnestly as her lips met his again.


	11. Continuing The Baker Reputation

**I honestly was running out of prank ideas so this is the best I came up with. I'm really sorry if it sounds stupid, but if you guys have any pranks you'd like to see the kids pull on each other PLEASE message me! I need more ideas, I already found myself on Google searching up "prank ideas for kids" I NEED YOUR HELP. Thankyouu(:**

"I'm bored." Kyle complained as he, Nigel, Kim, Jessica, Henry, and Mark all lounged around the couches at 7:00 pm. It was too dark to go outside and with no TV, the children were bored out of their minds.

"What do you want to do?" Jessica asked and Kyle shrugged.

Mark sighed. "Well, instead of just sitting here let's go do something fun!"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Like that?"

This time it was Mark's turn to shrug. All the children sat there in contemplation.

"I wish the Murtaughs were with us right now." Nigel frowned.

"They'd know something fun to do." Kyle agreed.

Suddenly, Henry stood up. "Guys, we can think of something fun to do also! It's like you guys rely on the Murtaughs to have fun. Well, remember the days where it was just us? Just the Bakers? We thought of things to do then, so why can't we think of something now?"

The kids slowly nodded. "Yeah, you're right!" Kim brightened up and the others nodded.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Mark asked.

"I know! Let's pull a prank on one of our family members!" Kylie said excitedly.

Henry brushed off the idea. "Nahh, too many witnesses." Then his face lit up. "But, there's no witnesses at Murtaughs!"

"What do you mean?" Jessica asked curiously.

"I say we pull a prank on the Murtaugh's house." Henry decided.

All five children nodded enthusiastically and agreed.

"And I've got the perfect plan." Henry smiled deviously. All of them sat up and gathered around the coffee table.

"KIDS! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" Jimmy yelled from downstairs to his children sleeping upstairs. It was 6:53, and usually they'd sleep in until 9:00. One by one, six bleary eyed children walked down the stairs, yawning and stretching their arms.

"Dad, not to be rude, but I was up until 2 in the morning planning the wedding and I'd really like to get at least 5 hours of sleep." Anne complained.

"You can go right back to sleep as soon as I ask this. Can anyone explain to me what _this _is?" He huffed and pointed to the living room.

From wall to ceiling, the Murtaughs living room was covered in bright blue silly string. It layered the couches and caked the ceiling fan. Across one wall, written in silly string: _Beware the Bakers._

"I think I know who did this." Becky joked half-heartedly.

"Oh, man. They got us good." Kenneth laughed and his father glared at him, making him shrink under his piercing eyes.

"How'd they get in?" Elliot asked, flabbergasted.

"That's what I'd like to know." Jimmy looked suspiciously out the living room window and could barely see the Baker's cabin in the arriving dawn sunlight.

"But, until we know…Clean it up. Now." Jim turned to leave but hesitated, wondering if he was being too hard on his kids. Sighing, he said, "And I expect you all to get back at them, got it?" He winked as all six of his children grinned back at him as they began to plot their revenge.


	12. Nora and The Campout

**Tom Jr. makes an appearance, yay!**

"Nora, Bud, and Tom Jr. here!" Sarah shouted giddily from where she was looking outside the window and rushed outside, with the rest of the Baker clan following closely behind.

Nora, Bud, and little 1 and a half year old Tom Jr. were engulfed in a huge group hug.

"I've missed my oldest daughter!" Kate exclaimed and threw her arms around Nora.

"I've missed you too, mom. It's so good to see all of you!" Nora smiled as Kate finally let go of her.

"Henry, Jake, and Charlie, help Bud and me with the bags. It seems as if your sister forgot that she's staying for only a week and decided to bring the whole closet along." Tom joked.

"Most of it is for the baby dad." Nora rolled her eyes. "You should know how much it takes to care for a baby since you took care of how many again? Oh, right, 12."

Tom chuckled as he headed into the house carrying a black duffel bag as big as Charlie.

Tom Jr. would not stop crying.

It had been only 2 hours since Nora, Bud, and the baby arrived. Nora, Kate, and Lorraine had tried everything to calm him down, but nothing seemed to work. "I go home! Me go home!" He wailed on and on without stopping. Tom Jr. was homesick.

They had bribed him with cookies; they surrounded him with his toys; they gave him Mr. Blankie; nothing would work!

"I bet even the Murtaughs can hear him!" Jake complained to Mike and Sarah as he clamped his hands over his ears. Sarah's eyes and mouth were also shut tight to refrain from screaming along with the baby. Mike sat at the coffee table with his skateboard figurines and half-heartedly played with them. They were all sitting downstairs on the couches and trying to ignore the crying.

"That's it!" Sarah stood up suddenly. "Come on guys, let's go get Elliot and go to the boarding ramps down the street. One more second of this torture and I'll lose it." Her two brothers were quickly on their feet and all three of them were out the door saying a quick goodbye to their father in the kitchen.

"Be home by two!" Their father called out as the door slammed behind them.

All of the Baker children had left a long time ago to escape the screaming baby, but Sarah had wanted to stay to give her mom, Nora, and Lorraine moral support. But she couldn't take it any longer. By 12:00 Tom Jr. had cleared out the house.

By 1:30, the house was silent. Kate had gotten the idea of taking Tom Jr. out to the lake to let him watch Jet Ski's skim the water and birds fly over the glistening lake. After fifteen minutes of being out by the lake, the little baby was quiet and drifting to sleep in Kate's arms. She had quickly gone upstairs and put him in his crib.

"You're a miracle worker." Nora sighed and rubbed at the bags under her eyes over a cup of coffee with Kate, Tom, and Lorraine in the kitchen.

Kate smiled. "Come on, you have to give me credit. I nursed 12 kids, some even at the same time, and I also wrote a best-selling book about parenting. If I couldn't have calmed down that baby, nobody could have."

Suddenly, as the clock struck 2, the front door opened as all 11 children poured into the house. Tom had asked Charlie to round everyone up from the lake for a family meeting.

"Alright, guys." Tom jumped up from his barstool and into the living room, paying no notice as his coffee sloshed down the front of his shirt. Kate raised her eyebrows and stifled a laugh, but said nothing.

As soon as everyone sat down in the living room, some sprawled out on each other, Tom explained. "I was talking to Jimmy yesterday and we came up with the idea of having a campout together! We're having it at our house, tonight." Everyone burst into excited murmuring, talking all at once over each other.

"Quiet, quiet!" Tom demanded in a hushed voice. "You'll wake up the baby again!"

Everyone froze at that very moment and looked nervously at the stairs, begging that they wouldn't hear crying. If Tom Jr. started up again, who knew if he'd ever stop? After a few seconds of tense silence, there was no noise from the baby's room and everyone gratefully blew out the breaths they had been holding.

Tom continued. "I expect you to be on your best behavior, so that means no fireworks, no animals, no pranks, no skateboards, no nothing! Tonight will be 100% prank-free." He concluded.

This rule made Mike groan.

"Wait, not even skateboards? That's so unfair, what if Elliot, Sarah, Mike, and I want to go boarding?" Jake complained.

Tom silenced him. "No. I'm sorry, but whenever there are skateboards involved there's trouble. Don't worry; you'll have the rest of the summer to break your bones on those things. But tonight is family night. No buts about it."

**This is just a filler chapter that leads up to the main event… sort of(: The main stuff happens in the next two chapters, but I'll post the first one now!**


	13. The Campout

Outside the Baker cabin it was tent city. At least twenty makeshift tents were set up to fit both the Murtaughs and the Bakers. In the middle of the tents Charlie, Jimmy, and Tom had constructed a fire pit, and now Nigel, Kyle, Kenneth, and Mark were throwing dead leaves and twigs into the diminishing fire to keep it going. Sarah, Jake, Becky, and Elliot were standing in the shallows of the lake, splashing each other and playing just like they used to when they were kids. Jessica and Kim were playing at the edge of the forest with Lisa, each of them waving sticks in the air and running around. Mike had taken Robin with him and the two of them sat on a dead log in a corner together, talking shyly and giggling, obviously flirting though neither of them would admit to it. Lorraine, Nora, Charlie, Anne, and Tom Jr. were sitting around the fire pit watching their siblings in amusement while Kate, Sarina, Jimmy, and Tom were sitting in chairs on the porch with beers in their hands.

In the shallows, Jake pulled Becky aside from the couple, to which Sarah was attempting to drown Elliot while laughing. "Can we, umm, can we go someplace private? I need to talk to you." Jake rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, the other in his pocket. Becky nodded and guided him into the forest.

"So, what do I have the pleasure of talking to the ever so great Jake Baker?" Becky asked once they were well away from their families and a few feet into the shadows of the forest.

Jake smiled shyly at her. "Well, actually, I wanted to talk to you about something." He said rather nervously.

Becky nodded at him to continue.

He stood there; completely dumbfounded that he had actually made it to this point. He shoved his hands into his pants pocket and took a deep breath. "Becky, this is incredibly hard for me to actually say without sounding like an idiot, but, well, I kind of like you." He said the last part as fast as he could.

Becky giggled. "Sorry, I didn't catch that." She admitted.

Jake began again. "I kind of like you, and as soon as I saw you I had never realized how beautiful you were," This caused Becky to blush furiously, "and I don't know how you'll respond to this, but I just wanted to ask if maybe, you know, you wanted to go on a date with me sometime?" His voice sounded terribly high and he quickly cleared his throat.

Becky blinked, clearly not knowing that he had dragged her down to the forest to tell her _that. _She remained quiet for a few moments, the silence eating Jake alive.

He closed his eyes and sighed painfully; he knew what was coming next. He had ruined it, asking her only a couple weeks into the summer! What was he thinking? Was he honestly that stupid?

Becky sensed what he thought and smiled sadly. "Jake, as much as I want to, I can't. I'm sorry,"

Jake let out a gasp of air he didn't realize he was holding. "It's okay, I get it." He turned to go, but Becky grabbed his arm.

"No, it's not because I don't like you! Believe me, I think you're really cute," She blushed again. "But you see, I'm already sort of going out with someone. But it's not like that! His name is Harold, and I only like him as a friend. My father set me up with him because he's the son of one of his golfing friends and he's really rich and even owns a second home in Italy that my father was hoping to be invited to. He thinks that me being with the man's son will improve their relationship, so I'm sort of forced. We've only been going out for a few weeks, and when we do go on dates Harold only talks about how rich he and his father is! It's quite annoying." Becky admitted before continuing. "As much as I want to tell my father I don't want to date him anymore, I can't. He never listens to me and there's no chance he'll listen to me then." She sighed.

Jake understood. "Oh, I didn't realize- wow. I'm sorry." Jake scuffed at the dirt with his shoe, his words tumbling together. It still kind of felt like he was rejected, even though in a way he wasn't. How could her father be so stupid and ignorant? He sounded like the worst father. Ever. "Errr… I know you're roped in to that situation, so until you resolve it there's not much of a chance between us. And it's okay, I get it… That you can't, uhh, go out with me. I guess we'll just stay as friends for now. But what I think is that you should talk to your father though. If he truly cares about you he'll realize how unhappy you are and let you do what's best." He gave her a small smile to which she returned.

"I don't think I can do that. And you don't get it, and until you're in a situation similar as mine you never will. I'm afraid that if I do, I won't be 'daddy's girl' anymore and he'll just see me as another one of his disappointments." She sighed and brushed a loose piece of hair behind her ears.

Jake realized there was no point in arguing and that she was right; he didn't get it. Just like she didn't understand some things, he didn't understand the confusing relationship Becky had with her father.

The two of them stood there with disappointment read clear on their face. Becky looked down at her hands and wished she was born in some other family where she could actually choose who she liked.

"I guess we remain friends, then." Jake said awkwardly.

Becky gave a small smile, and nodded. And at that moment Jake felt something close to disappointment and sadness jumbled into one. He couldn't quite place what it was, but he knew that he really didn't like the feeling. Later on, though, Jake realized what that feeling was. It was heartbreak.

"This is how real camping is supposed to be." Jimmy leaned back in his chair and smiled as Sarina glanced lovingly at her husband.

"Can't get any better than this." Tom agreed as he sipped his beer.

"Mmm," Kate and Sarina chimed in. The four of them sat in silence as they watched their children.

"You know," Jimmy finally spoke up. "We should do this more often." He decided, and Tom looked at him with a funny look on his face. He had never thought he'd see the day when Jimmy actually _wanted _to hang out with him and his family. Just two years ago, the two of them had been clawing at each other's throats and now... it was as if they were old friends.

"What?" Jimmy asked defensively. "I know we've had our disagreements in the past, Tom, but we've put them aside now and I feel like I can actually call you a good friend of mine. And besides, our old memories were getting in the way of our children, and now look at them."

What Jimmy said was true; the Murtaughs and the Bakers had grown extremely close to each other, and now two of them were getting married! It seemed as if the bonds between the two families couldn't grow any bigger than it already was. And hopefully the families would stay close, even when the kids had grown up and moved away. Tom was absolutely certain he'd want to see more of Jimmy before his kids could grow up.

"You know what, Jimmy Murtaugh, you're absolutely right." Tom smiled and he raised his beer bottle in a toast. "To new found friendships."

"To new found friendships." Jimmy smiled and took a deep swig of beer, feeling like he belonged here more than any other place in the Earth.

Smiling at the two husbands and their sudden change in behavior, Kate got up and yelled to the kids, "Who wants smores?"

**OKAY OKAY OKAY this chapter was important. Something in this chapter is going to take part in a small plotline throughout the story. I'm really excited to write it, and I think you all will be shocked when you see what I'm going to do.**

**But another thanks to everyone who's reviewing! It makes me smile when I get an email that someone has favorited or reviewed my story! And just a small forewarning, by the next chapter and on it gets really good. Or at least in my opinion. **

**I'm on Chapter 19 already, and there's just soooooo that I'm planning that I'm trying to get the ball rolling so I can write all the scenarios I reeeeeeally want to. In fact, because I just got back from Hawaii and my sleep schedule is out of wack I'm spending the whole night writing, so hopefully I'll get two or three more chapters done. And by then I'm positive the drama will all unfold. Until then, read and review! And on another note, I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Hawaii's connection absolutely sucked so I had no other choice. ****That and I'm also really lazy.**** Love you guys Xx**


	14. Unannounced Sleepover

Sarah woke up with a jump, her breath wild and erratic and her heart racing; she was covered in sweat and the inside of her sleeping bag was closing around her, squashing her. She fumbled for the zipper and yanked the bag off her, letting the cool, night air blow on her as she ran her hand through her hair and willed her heart to stop beating like a drum. Once again she had "the Hurricane Dream".

Outside, it was pitch black, with the crescent moon providing little light for Sarah to see. It sounded as if everyone else was asleep, finally, after the adults had managed to quiet the little ones as they stayed up until late in their tents telling ghost stories.

Suddenly, Sarah heard a twig crack outside. Her head whirled towards the flaps of her tent, her heart returning to the rhythmic drumming beat. "W-who's there?" She whispered out into the open. Nobody answered her. Sarah quickly searched for anything in her tent to use as a weapon, but the only things that were in her tent was a sleeping bag and a small pebble her fingers had grazed. It certainly couldn't do any damage to what was out there whatsoever. Another twig cracked.

Just as she was about to call out for her dad, Elliot's face popped into her tent and she nearly screamed.

Elliot quickly backed up in surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" Elliot whispered quickly as Sarah put a hand to her heart.

"Its fine, I'm just glad you aren't some bear that's come to eat me." She smiled at him as he entered her tent as quietly as he could, glancing outside once more. If their fathers saw him sneaking into Sarah's tent in the middle of the night, they would expect the worse.

"I heard you rolling around in here; are you okay? Were you having a nightmare?"

Sarah looked down and bit her lip. "Yeah…"

Elliot sensed that she didn't want to talk about it. He glanced left to right outside again to make sure nobody else was up before climbing into her sleeping bag with her.

"Come here," He said and pulled her close. Sarah allowed herself to be wrapped in Elliot's protective arms and sighed deeply, breathing in the scent of him that smelled like mint and firewood. It was just like she remembered from two years ago. He honestly hadn't changed a bit from that young, reckless boy she once fell in love with. And she was happy.

"No bear will be able to eat you with me here, now."

Sarah giggled. "I appreciate that."

The two sat in comfortable silence, lost in the moment they were finally together and alone.

Then, Sarah broke it. "What if we get caught?" She asked him while yawning sleepily.

Elliot looked down at her fondly. "Then we get in huge trouble." They smiled up at each other.

"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take." And then she leaned up and kissed him quickly. As she pulled away, he grabbed her face before she could and pressed his lips against hers and kissed her long and hard.

As he pulled away, he pressed his forehead against hers and stared deeply into her eyes. "Sarah Baker, you don't know how much I love you." Elliot told her.

Sarah's cheeks flushed and she felt her heart swoop. "And I love you too, Elliot Murtaugh. So much it's impossible to explain."

That night Sarah and Elliot fell asleep in each other's arms, legs entangled and holding hands, feeling as light as a feather and happier than any couple possibly could.

**And no, they did NOT have sex. They're only fourteen, remember. And I will say that now before any of you ask. (;**

**Ohh, and to numbah435spiritsong: First of all, thank you so much! Every review is appreciated. And second of all, I'd just like to say it's not going to be staying that way, I promise. (; I'm not going to say anything else, but really soon things are going to start switching around! And you just might like one of the new pairings! Who knows?**


	15. Fishing Trip

All sixteen Bakers were crammed around the table piled high with pancakes, waffles, eggs, fruit salad, hash browns, orange juice, milk, and biscuits, shoving as much food onto their plates and mouths. In the Baker household, it was a fight to the last roll to get your fair share of food.

"Can everybody please stop choking food down and listen up?" Tom tried to get everyone to calm down and stop eating. Finally, after everyone looked up from their plates, he continued.

"Today, we're all going on a fishing trip together, as a family!"

"Will the Murtaughs come?" Mike asked hopefully.

"No, we're just going as a family." Tom repeated.

"What? Why can't the Murtaughs come?" Lorraine complained. Even she wanted to see her good friend and secret crush, Calvin.

"Because we haven't done anything as just us, that's why. As much as I also like hanging out with the Murtaughs and Jimmy, I want to have a family bonding time with just us. And I don't want to hear any 'buts' about it. And don't complain either; you have the whole rest of the summer to hang out with them. One day won't kill you." Tom said firmly.

"Okay," The kids eventually grumbled, knowing that nothing would make their father change his mind. Besides, he was right. It was only one day.

Dressed in shorts, old t-shirts, and rain boots, the Bakers hiked their way over to a little expanse around the lake filled with shady trees and picnic benches. Jake, Henry, and Charlie carried all the fishing poles and Lorraine carried the picnic basket. Tom held the worms.

"Dad, are you sure this isn't private property?" Lorraine asked him suspiciously, glancing around from the dirt-trail they were on to the tall pine trees above them.

"I'm sure. I was talking to Jimmy the other night about fishing and he told me that this was the best place to go. The Murtaughs usually catch at least three large bass a trip. They said they taste a lot better than the fish they catch upstream." Tom explained.

"Dad! You're not saying that were actually KILLING the fish, are you?" Mark asked, a look of horror spread clearly across his face.

Tom grimaced. He hadn't told his children they were fishing for their dinner, yet.

"Well, Mark, we're actually doing the fish a favor! You see, the fish in this lake could be at overpopulation right now, so by catching our dinner we're reducing the population by that much and saving the lake. So technically, we're doing a good deed here."

Mark looked troubled but didn't press the subject any further.

"Alright guys, let's set up here!" Tom decided and Lorraine sighed in relief as she dumped the heavy picnic basket onto a table.

"Careful." Kate warned her daughter, and Lorraine shrugged.

"Everyone grab their fishing poles. I'll come to everybody one at a time to put some bait on the hook." Tom said as everyone rushed to the poles and practically tackled each other for the best one.

"Please, make sure you aren't too close to each other! We don't want anyone's eye getting snagged with a hook." Kate warned fretfully to her other children as she pushed Nigel farther away from Kylie, who was swinging his pole recklessly around.

Fifteen minutes later, Jake's pole caught a fairly large fish, while Lorraine's pole caught a long, skinny branch.

"Dad, this is impossible! How come Jake caught a fish and I only caught a twig?" Lorraine complained for the eighteenth time since they had arrived and started fishing.

"Because you keep scaring the fish away with your shouting! Try and be a little quieter, okay sweetie?" Tom pleaded. Jake's fish was the first they'd caught, but it was too small to cook so they had thrown it back. If Lorraine didn't stop complaining, they wouldn't have any dinner tonight.

"Dad! Dad help me, I think I caught something!" Kim hollered, holding onto her pole for her life, her eyes as big as saucers.

"Hold on!" Tom ran over to her and quickly helped her reel it in, holding onto her in fear that she would be pulled into the water with the fish.

Onto the grass flopped a huge, shiny bass. "Oh, shoot! It's huge!" Henry yelled as he, Tom, Charlie, Jake, and Sarah tried to wrestle down the fish. It flopped to no end, attempting a frenzied escape towards the water.

"Honey! Bring the cooler over, quick!" Tom yelled and Kate ran over with a bright red cooler.

All five of them managed to pick it up and threw the fish into the cooler and closed the lid, but the fish continued to flop around inside and eventually threw off the lid. As its tail flopped over the edge, the children screamed and backed away.

"Someone sit on the cooler! It's too strong!" Mike yelled, and Nigel and Kyle hopped willingly onto the lid. But the fish bucked and flailed around and Nigel and Kyle were thrown from the top. Lorraine and Jessica screamed and clutched each other.

"It's possessed!" Jessica screeched.

Sarah, Mike, and Jake leapt onto the cooler as it was about to tip itself. It was like watching a bull ride as the three of them were jostled and shoved from the cooler, but they held on tight.

Slowly the fish's attempts to escape reduced before it was silent.

They stood in silence for a few seconds.

"Is it dead?" Mark asked solemnly.

Tom nodded and looked at his son. "Yeah, it's dead."

"I feel like a fish killer." Sarah sighed.

"A murderer." Kim agreed.

"Oh, come on kids! It's called life. Lighten up, once you taste the fish you'll forget all about it." He reassured them.

Reluctantly, the kids picked up their poles and began to fish again.

The mood quickly lightened up though as everyone gathered around for lunch. "Okay, I have ham, ham and cheese, tuna, turkey, and peanut butter sandwiches! Come and grab your favorite." Kate dumped fifteen sandwiches onto the table and everyone dived for their favorite. After everyone grabbed their favorite sandwiches, only two were left untouched on the table.

"Okay wait, who didn't grab their sandwhich? I'm positive I didn't make any extras." Kate asked as she did a quick head count on her children.

Someone giggled behind her. "Mommy, look at us!"

The Bakers turned around and their eyes widened in horror.

Nigel and Kyle sat in a mud puddle, covered from head to toe in the sticky, brown goo. They were splashing each other with mud and laughing. To complete the picture, Nigel was holding a squirming, green gecko and waving the poor creature around.

"Boys, no!" Kate sighed, exasperated and rushed over to them.

Charlie quickly held out an arm to stop her. "Mom, no! Don't you see what's around them? Poison ivy, so unless you want to be scratching your skin raw, I suggest you stay here."

Kate and Tom looked at each other in dismay.

"Boys," Tom took a step closer. "Did you touch the green plants around you?"

Nigel and Kyle looked at each other and shrugged. "Maybe?"

"That's poison ivy!" He told the two. Nigel dropped the lizard and both of their faces fell.

"The itchy plants?" They asked innocently.

"Oh no," Kate groaned. This was going to be a long, long week.

**I don't know why, but I really liked writing that fish part. And I love Sarah and Kim's line. I don't know, I just hope you guys like it as much as I did. (:**


	16. Family Comes First

Jake was depressed. Kim could tell. She watched him as he swirled his Lucky Charms around the bowl with his spoon, a gloomy look on his face. As the rest of the family were in rowdy debate over who got the last pancake, Jake sat alone in the corner, his back turned partly from everyone else as he became lost in thought. And when Nigel accidently flung eggs towards his face five minutes ago, he merely shrugged it off and gave him a half smile. The old Jake would've gone berserk and throw something back at him. But today he was just, silent.

Kim nudged her other half, Jessica and nodded her head in the direction of Jake. Jessica studied him for three seconds and glanced worriedly at her sister. Kim shrugged. It was as if the two twins knew exactly what one another were thinking. And maybe they did. Their family often joked that they held a telepathic connection between each other.

"Should we talk to him?" Jessica was first to speak up.

Again, Kim shrugged. "Probably. He looks pretty upset. But then again, maybe we shouldn't nose into his business. You know how he gets when people invade his privacy."

And it was true. Jake ranted at his family whenever someone walked into his room without permission. He even had a "Keep Out" sign on his door that allowed only Mike and Sarah on occasion to enter.

Jessica murmured in agreement and went back to nibbling at her banana. Five minutes passed and suddenly Jake stood up.

"I'm gonna go clear my plate." He mumbled to his father before ducking out of the room without a second look. The others didn't pay any notice. It wasn't much of a difference; they knew that some mornings Jake was simply in a bad mood and wasn't to be messed with. It was personal, and so on those mornings they let him be.

But this morning was different. Something was bothering him.

"I'm gonna go talk to him." Kim gave up with a sigh and pushed her chair out from the table. Jessica was a second behind her.

Together, the two left the dining room and swung open the kitchen doors where Jake was, rinsing and drying his cereal bowl.

Although the twins weren't as close to Jake as they would have liked, it hurt them to see him like this. And to not know what it was about was even worse. Usually, Mike and Sarah were the ones to comfort him in a situation like this but they hadn't paid any attention to him this morning. Which was strange, because they were each other's best friends, never one without the other. Jessica and Kim shared a look before Kim cleared her throat.

"Errm, Jake?"

Jake turned and looked up at the two, his face neutral. "Oh, hey guys." He smiled, making a failed attempt at seeming happy.

"Drop the act, Jake." Kim said rather rudely, and Jessica elbowed her in the stomach.

"Don't be rude, he's the one that's acting all depressed." She hissed to her twin, who was now keeled over holding her stomach. Jessica turned back to Jake, who glanced at them in confusion.

"Depressed? Why would I beat depressed?" Jake scoffed in dismay before turning back to the sink and rinsing off his bowl for the second time.

"Jake," Kim's voice was hoarse and she still was clutching her stomach, but she made a move to sit down at the bar above the sink. "We saw you at the kitchen table. You were looking at your cereal as if they murdered puppies or something."

She raised her eyebrows at Jake as he shrugged it off and moved to the dishwasher. Both of the girls followed him around the island and leaned against the counter as he dumped his bowl and spoon in.

"Come on, spill." Jessica prodded. "We promise we won't tell a soul."

"We can even help you," Kim added.

Jake sighed, looking back and forth between the twins. Eventually he sighed. "Alright, fine." And swallowing a breath of air, he began to explain.

"Becky rejected me. I mean, well, not so much rejected me but she's not allowed to go out with me. Her father set her up with one of his scumbag golfer friend's son, and even though she doesn't like him that way her father doesn't know, or at least doesn't listen. And I guess I was just really sure that when I told her how I felt she'd feel the same, but instead it was the opposite and- I don't know. I guess I just wasn't prepared." His words came out in a jumbled, hurried mess and he found himself panting after he explained it all.

Jessica and Kim looked at him in sympathy, something he didn't one at the moment.

"Jake, I'm sorry. We didn't know." Jessica was first to try and comfort him.

"It's fine," Jake snapped, feeling irritated from their pity. It was the last thing he needed. "It's done, and now I can move on and focus on better things, like training for the skateboarding tournament back home in August."

"But Jake, don't you want to talk about it? I mean, I know it must've been hard to get rejected, but we're here for you." Kim said solemnly. Coming from her, that meant a lot. Out of the two twins, Jessica was more compassionate while Kim was more brave.

"And we always will be." Jessica added, a smile on her face.

And as much as Jake wanted to stay moody and irritated, he couldn't help but smile. Once again, the three of them weren't as close as they were with their other siblings, so it meant a lot to him.

"Thank you, guys." He added begrudgingly. "But I think I'm just going to try and sleep it off."

Kim and Jessica gave up at their efforts to cheer him up and nodded. "Alright," Kim said. "But just remember if you ever need someone to talk to, we're here for you."

**I felt like this chapter was really cute because Jessica and Kim are so secretive and albeit cliquey with each other, so it was sweet when they reached out to Jake and stuff. I don't know, even though I was the writer I thought it was cute. Hehe(;**

**Also, on another note, I'm going to be off on vacation at my lake house for a whole two weeks! And my dad won't allow me to bring my laptop because it's "family time". But I'll try and sneak it with us anyways, just for you guys! I know it's a REALLY long time and it's unfair, and I'm sorry for that, but one of the good things is that we're bunking with a bunch of our family friends and this cute guy my age will be there as well.(; But PLEASE don't give up on this story! I promise you it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Right now I'll post three chapters for you all. And somewhere in between that vacation, if I can smuggle my laptop, I'll post 1 or 2 more. **

**Oh and also, Jonas: Calvin is in chapter fifteen! I know he wasn't that much important in the first couple of chapters, but he'll also have his little drama filled part as well! I promise(: as for Daniel… let's just assume he's in college. I had no room to fit him in this story and had no idea how he could take part in all the drama because of his age…(no one is near the same age as him, which I learned he was around 19 in the movie so by now he's 21!) I'm sorry if you're disappointed :(**

**If you read all of this then I love you.3**


	17. Lost and Payback

**The moment you've all been waiting for! Drumroll, please! ….. Payback time!**

"Dad, are you sure were not lost?" Sarah wondered aloud for the fifth time that hour. The whole family had been literally forced on a "peaceful" nature walk led by none other than Tom Baker.

"It'll be a nice, family bonding trip!" He had promised. "And anyways, I'm your father. And what I say goes." And so the whole family had put on their running shoes and reluctantly followed their father into the forest. And for the next three hours, they had followed their father on a complex trail that eventually led them to being lost, although their father would not admit to it.

"Uhhh, yeah… See this rock? We passed it a couple hours ago." He tried to seem sure of himself, but Sarah could tell even he didn't have a clue whether or not they were heading the right way.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Kyle complained piteously, holding his grumbling stomach. Kate ruffled his hair and gave him a smile.

"Don't worry, we'll be home soon." She promised. Leave it to her to try and keep the group's spirits up. But still, the children were miserable. A three hour walk left their feet aching and sore, and to make matters worse, their water supply was low.

The whole family trekked through the intimidating forest, brushing past thick ferns and looming trees, trying not to stumble on roots and slippery leaves. The sun was almost setting now and the sunlight was softly diminishing. Tom hadn't remembered to pack a flashlight, although now he wished he did.

"Dad, it's getting dark." Lorraine reminded her father. Tom paused and glanced up at the sky, the rest of the family waiting expectantly behind him.

He turned to face the family. "Alright guys, don't be alarmed when I say this, but-"

"We're lost." Henry piped up. "I knew it!"

"Lost? You mean were gonna die out here?" Jessica squealed in alarm, clutching her twin Kim who gave her an annoyed eye roll.

"Dad, we have, like, no food or water!" Lorraine yelled anxiously.

"We're gonna die?" Nigel and Kyle wondered aloud and shared distressed looks. That set everybody off. The kids began to scream in panic, looking around the trees as if a magical light would shine through leading them home. Sarah and Jake were yelling at Nigel and Kyle to shut up, who were now screaming as loud as they could. Mike was spinning circles trying to search for anything familiar. Jessica was still holding on to Kim in a death grip, who could no longer breathe. Henry was trying to pull a hyperventilating Mark away from the tree he was holding. And in the midst of it, Nora and Lorraine were running around trying to calm everyone down.

"Everybody quiet!" Kate suddenly yelled and tried to get everyone's attention. "If you want to get out alive, you have to be quiet!"

Eventually, everyone calmed down and became silent, looking at Tom and Kate with worried looks on their faces.

"We really need to get a new system of calming everybody down." Tom mumbled to Kate, who hushed him.

"We're not going to die, I can assure you that." Kate threw a warning glance at Nigel and Kyle, who shrunk from her gaze. "Yes, we are lost. But we'll find our way out of this forest if we work together and _stay calm._" she said the last part slowly, her eyes swooping over her kids. "Now, come on. We have to get back before it gets dark."

And so the whole family set off once again, although their thoughts were troubled with the thousands of possibilities that could happen.

"I see something!" All 28 eyes turned to follow Mike's hand pointed in the direction of what he was referring to. Light. Although it was dim and far away, it was there. It seeped through the elms and oaks that were skeletons above the darkening sky. Another hour had passed as the family trekked on, and the sun had lowered behind the jagged rocks of the forest.

"Brilliant! Good job, Mike. Everyone, head in that direction." Tom commanded as he took the lead, his shoulders sagging in relief. The whole family picked up the pace in a rush to get to whatever the light held. The promise of food and water and clean bed sheets was the main thing that dragged them on. That, and the fact that they had absolutely no idea what the forest held.

Finally, exactly 46 minutes later the Baker family approached what was now the Murtaugh household. That meant they still had to walk around the whole perimeter of the lake to get to their house, and it was nearly dark.

"Do you think the Murtaughs would let us stay at their house for the night?" Kate offered to her husband. Even her efforts to keep the family upbeat failed, and now the only thing she wanted to do was sit down and sleep. Taking care of all 12 children once again in two years proved to be energy draining, and she had totally forgotten what it felt like.

"Great idea! I don't see why not." Tom turned and motioned for his family to listen up. "Since we're all fairly exhausted and I put you through the worst four or five hours of your lives, we're going to see if the Murtaughs will let us stay with them tonight."

Not even Nigel or Kyle had the energy to cheer, but the looks on their faces and sighs of relief were enough to tell they were grateful.

Exhausted and sweaty, Tom led them up the long, sloping hill towards the front door. Usually, Sarah realized, this hill was much easier to climb. But right now it seemed as if it was as tall and steep as a mountain, each step causing her to wince as her feet cried out in agony. She couldn't remember a time she felt more exhausted in her life. Sweat dripped down the middle of her back and her t-shirt clung to her skin. With a panicked thought, she realized Elliot might have to see her like this and groaned internally.

Two knocks on the door was all it took to get Jimmy to answer the door with a flourish of grumbling. "It's almost 10 o'clock, whoever's knocking better-" As the door opened to reveal the grubby faces of all 14 Bakers, he stepped back in shock. "Oh! What happened to you guys, you look like you've been hit by a train!"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Jim. We went for a nature walk through the forest and sort of got… lost. Since we're exhausted and our house is all the way across the lake, you think we could bunk here for the night? We promise we'll be gone by morning."

Jimmy smiled. "Of course not! Come on right in, you can sleep in the game room. Umm, but make sure you take your shoes off first." He nodded at the 14 pairs of shoes caked in mud and grass.

A loud boom woke Henry up with a jolt, and he jumped up, his eyes still blurry. But he couldn't see a thing; the Murtaugh's game room was filled with green and blue smoke! Waves and waves of it filled the room and washed over him, coating his shirt and his shoes and filling into his lungs.

"Dad!" He called out, his voice raw and scratchy but no one answered. A putrid smell began to fill his nose and he began to cough, his eyes watering. "What the-?" He began to ask but his throat clogged with the fumes and he couldn't complete his sentence. He could hear rustling which meant his siblings were also waking up, and Jessica's scream filled the room.

"What is this stuff?" She cried out, waking everybody who wasn't up and suddenly everyone in the room was yelling and attempting to get away from the foul smell of the green gas. Henry tried to get up but was barreled over by Nigel or Kyle, he couldn't see who though.

"What's going on? Where is everybody?" Tom's voice rang through the room and all at once everyone began shouting his name.

Panic spread throughout the room and suddenly everyone was up and trying to get out. The fumes filled Henry's nose and every pore in his body, and his lungs screamed for fresh air. His coughs were mixed with his sibling's coughs and he could barely see past his arms.

And then Henry realized what this was. He cursed under his breath; he knew exactly what happened. Revenge. Payback. The Murtaughs somehow had placed stink bombs into the room the Baker's had crashed in, and Henry knew it was his fault. He was the one that started the prank war after all.

Crawling on all fours, Henry made his way to what he assumed would be the sliding door that led to the back entrance towards the lake. He could see a flash of blonde hair, a foot running past him, someone with a sleeping bag wrapped around their body in an attempt to escape the fumes. At one point he bumped into the air hockey table, but that also meant he was nearing the entrance. Past the pinball machine, around the plush black bean bags, and then suddenly his hands hit the glass door. Outside.

He quickly reached up and pulled at the handle, his grip slippery from the strange gas. Finally it swung open and fresh air momentarily filled his lungs. He bolted up and out of the house, coughing and sputtering, the green gas pouring out with him.

"AND THE MURTAUGHS ARE EVEN BABY!" Kenneth stood on the lawn in just a pair of boxers, a red bed sheet wrapped around his shoulders like a cape, arms out and fist pumping the air. The rest of the Murtaugh children stood behind him, cheering and laughing as the rest of the Baker children followed the smell of fresh air to join him outside.

"You could have killed us!" Henry sputtered as Sarah accidently bumped into him on her way out.

"No! That gas is perfectly safe, it just smells really bad." Becky giggled while high fiving Calvin.

"Kids!" Tom barked at the Murtaughs once the rest of his children were out of the death trap of fumes. "That was absolutely unnecessary; you didn't have to drag the parents into your little prank war! That was- That was- It was crossing the line! You should've known better, we could've suffocated."

The Murtaughs tried to hide the smiles on their faces. Tom was over-exaggerating; he knew it couldn't have killed them. But being woken up to the putrid smell of rotten eggs and month old milk wasn't the best way to start the day.

"Sorry, Mr. Baker, we just had to get back at them and it seemed like a perfect time to. Next time, we'll make sure you aren't a part of the prank." Calvin apologized, being the oldest out of the 8 children.

"You bet your sorry selves there will be a next time!" Tom yelled at them before turning to his own kids, a small smile on his face. "You better get back at them, you hear me? We don't play to get even, we play to win."


	18. Love and Mudwars

**Gosh, I really really love this chapter. It adds a lot. Tell me what you guys think!**

She watched him as he chased Kyle down the banks with two scoops of mud in his hands, his feet kicking up sand with every step. Kyle screamed as he caught him with both hands and laughed as he smeared the mud into his water logged hair. It was official. She was in love with Jake Baker. She was lying on the shore line of the Baker's lake house as Jake had a rather messy mud fight with the twins. The rest of the Murtaughs were either hanging out around the lake or back home. But she was here and perfectly content. Hanging out with Jake was the highlight of her day. She didn't know when it happened, but it suddenly clicked. She realized that everything about him was just… perfect. From the hair on his head to the tips of his toes, he was perfect in every single way. And she knew about the saying "nobody's perfect", her father said it every time on the rare occasion she lost a Spelling Bee competition, but that didn't apply to him. Jake Baker was just… perfect in every way. She loved the way his hair always flopped into his eyes and he'd do this little thing where he'd brush it to the side, only to have it fall back into his eyes a few seconds later. She loved his carefree personality, and how he was always the first to try something. She loved his forehead, and the way his hair framed it perfectly. She loved the way he got sleepy every day at 6 pm, no matter what they were doing or where they were. She loved the way his eyes turned green in the sun, but in the shadows they looked almost blue. She loved the way his laugh sounded like a melody in her ears, both soft and raspy at the same time. She even loved that whenever he sneezed, he'd blink twice and wiggle his nose afterwards. And the three little freckles below his left eye that formed almost a triangle; it made her go crazy. It was official. She was in love with him.

But she couldn't be. Or not now, necessarily. There was too much going on and not enough time, and with the wedding going on everyone was stressed and rushing around trying to plan everything on time. Plus, her father wouldn't approve of it. Her father never approved of anything she wanted. But she didn't want to think about that. It was too distressing.

"What are you looking at?" His voice jolted her from her thoughts and she realized she had been staring at him for quite a while now. She realized he had absolutely no idea what she was thinking about and began to blush furiously. "I'm the one with the mud!" Jake whirled towards her with an evil grin, squishing the oozing mud in his hands in an attempt to scare her. The twins were in the shallows of the lake washing off, leaving her defenseless with no backup. "You don't think I'd let you go so easily, do you?"

"You wouldn't dare." She giggled, now backing away from him and his mud filled hands as her heart soared. Every time he spoke to her, it was the same feeling. Butterflies in her stomach, skin tingling, heart stopping sensation. She both loved and hated it.

"Oh, I would." And with that Jake tore down the stretch of sand towards her, arms prepared to launch the mud. She screamed and ducked behind her lawn chair, but Jake was quicker and was on her in a second, wrapping his long arms around her waist, trapping her. Despite her struggles and pleas he kept a steady grip on her.

"Don't! Let me go!" She said between fits of giggles. "I'm on your side!"

"Never! You're a traitor; you left me alone to fight the evil twins! And for that you shall pay!" And with one last struggle, she suddenly felt the cool sensation of mud sliding down her neck and seeping into her shirt. She squealed and tried to escape as he smeared it across her shoulders.

"Ewww, Jake!" She complained, trying to hide her smile as she fought out of his death grip and tried to shake the mud off her. He finally released her and she whirled on him, trying to look angry.

Jake watched her, his eyes alight with amusement as the corners of his lips quivered. He could tell she wasn't mad. She could never stay mad at him. "What? I heard mud's good for the skin or something." He bit his tongue to keep from laughing at her.

"You're awful!" She grimaced as she wiped the mud from her back and flung it back at him. He quickly dodged it.

"Miss me, miss me, now you gotta kiss me!" He chanted and stuck out his tongue before taking off back down the sand. With another giggle, she bent down to scoop a handful of mud before taking off after him.

It was official. Lisa was in love with Jake Baker.

**Didn't see that coming did you? Yeah, more drama. It's just what I like to do(; So now there's a dilemma; although Jake doesn't know it but now two girls are vying for his attention. So what do you guys think? Who do you want him to choose? Do you think Jake will even like her, or is her heart going to get broken in the end? I just want to see your theories!**


	19. Not a Chapter

**Okay, I got a TON of reviews from the last three chapters. And I'd like to say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. Really, seeing all those reviews brought the biggest smile onto my face that didn't go away for like the whole day. (: So, thank you! Secondly, a lot of hype was going around about Jake and Lisa. Some people loved them, and others preferred Jake and Becky. I can assure you this is NOT the end and they may or may not end up together! I have a whole plot lined up for them, and I'm telling you now Jake is juggled between both girls for a while. Becky isn't totally gone forever. And, on another note, some people were confused on their ages. I totally get that, because I just based everyone's ages on a wild guess. Sorry(: So I'm gonna post the ages right now! I also put in tiny descriptions (for my sake) in the beginning of the story to create a character for each of them.**

**Tom Baker (father) – n/a**

**Kate Baker (mother) – n/a**

**Nora Baker (living in Houston with Bud) 25**

**Charlie Baker (living at the lake house, fiancé of Anne) 21**

**Lorraine Baker (in college, got accepted into TCU) 19**

**Henry Baker (overprotective) 16**

**Sarah Baker (Tomboy, likes Elliot) 14**

**Jake Baker (quiet, teenage boy) 15**

**Jessica Baker (smart) 10**

**Kim Baker (smart) 10**

**Mark Baker (nerdy) 12**

**Mike Baker (troublemaker) 11**

**Nigel Baker (twin) 6**

**Kyle Baker (twin) 6**

**Jimmy Murtaugh (father) -**

**Sarina Murtaugh (mother) -**

**Anne Murtaugh (sister, fiancé of Charlie) 21**

**Elliot Murtaugh (sweet, likes Sarah) 14**

**Kenneth Murtaugh (troublemaker) 12**

**Becky Murtaugh (strong-willed, independent) 14**

**Daniel Murtaugh (moved out) 23**

**Lisa Murtaugh (A bit quieter than her sister Becky) 15**

**Robin Murtaugh (adventure girl) 12**

**Calvin Murtaugh (moved out) 21**

**If you don't like their ages, I'm really sorry! I created it right before I started this story, so I can't really change it now. Also, I'M BACK! My vacation is now over (and I'm sort of sad about that) but it was a lot of fun and one of the best things that happened was that there was a cute boy my age that was with us, so I got to spend quite a lot of time with him(; But I don't want to ramble on about what happened during my trip, so I'll stop now!**

**One last thing. To Kiera: Don't worry, I have already written a kissing scene between Elliot and Sarah, and it's coming up pretty soon. I was thinking that too, so that's the reason I decided to put it in. (:**

**Oh, and I'm going to upload another chapter right after I post this so I don't leave you hanging!**

**Love you all3**


	20. Tom Jr

Nora yawned for the sixth time in five minutes, cradling baby Tom Jr. in one arm and stirring her coffee with the other. It had been the longest night of her life last night; Tom Jr. was extremely fussy these days to the point where she was literally forced to tend to him all night. Of course, Bud was alongside her half the time in the wee hours of the night, trying to make Tom Jr. calm down. But the two of them hadn't gotten a decent sleep for days. Kate said the reason he was colicky lately was because his baby teeth were starting to grow in. Nora didn't know whether or not she was right, but she didn't have half the mind to argue. She was simply too tired. And with the wedding fast approaching in just two months, she was more exhausted and stressed than she'd ever been in her life. She wouldn't be surprised if her hair started falling out due to the hassle of putting everything together.

"You sleep okay?" Tom walked in to the kitchen carrying four empty cereal bowls, all balanced on top of each other.

Nora smiled sleepily at him; he already knew the answer. It was the same every day.

"I'll take that as a no," He smiled back and dumped the bowls into the sink before turning to her and planting a kiss on her forehead. "Welcome to parenthood."

"It sucks, dad. I don't see how you managed all 12 of us." Nora grunted, taking a sip of her second mug of coffee. Tom shrugged his shoulders before grabbing the discarded newspaper beside her and skimming through it.

"Oh hey, by the way," Tom said as he absentmindedly flicked through the pages. "There's a house for sale a little ways down the lake from us. I think there's a family about to take it."

"New neighbors?" Nora asked, her eyebrows scrunching together. In her arms, Tom Jr. mumbled something in his sleep, a spit bubble forming on his lips. She quieted her voice before continuing, "I didn't even know there was another house on our lake except for ours and the Murtaughs."

Tom shrugged again. "Neither did I. But Jimmy and I were talking the other day over a couple of beers and he told me to be on the lookout. He saw a couple talking to a real estate agent there just last Sunday. We might be sharing our lake with another family."

Nora groaned. Just what they needed to top of the wedding. Another family to patrol the waters. "Let's just hope they're nice."

"Nora! We need your help!" Kate suddenly called from upstairs. Nora sighed. Her break was over. She reluctantly set down her mug of coffee and, still cradling Tom Jr., made her way upstairs.

She followed the sound of ballroom music and frenzied chatter through the upstairs of the cabin, her empty hand skimming over the worn, rusted wood of the stair railing. Past Jake's room, where she could hear muffled snoring, around a handful of blocks, and stepping over a lone teddy bear, she followed the noises that came from the room at the back end of the hall.

Checking one last time that Tom Jr. was still asleep, Nora opened the door to reveal Kate, Sarina, Lorraine, Charlie, and Anne all in one corner, bent over a sample paper of at two different colors, a lovely honey color and a elegant purple. Everything that was remotely related to the wedding was stashed in this back room so nobody but the bride and bridesmaids (with the exception of the groom) could see what they were planning. So far it only held pictures of various cakes, Anne's great grandmother's veil, and magazine clippings of all the things Anne wanted at her wedding, including the style of cake.

Kate caught her eye and waved her over, looking relieved. "Perfect timing. We need your help deciding which color for the bridesmaids dresses. And since you're one of them, you get to decided which you like best."

Nora moved to the color samples and studied them closely. The theme was chosen to be a vineyard garden, with Tom and Jimmy finally coming to an agreement. It was decided it would be mostly just close family friends, and would take place on the Murtaugh's outdoor porch that overlooked the lake.

"Purple," Nora finally decided with a nod. The yellow felt strange to mix with the vineyard theme. Purple was the reasonable choice.

"Thank you. See, I told you guys she would pick purple!" Anne smiled in triumph.

Her fiancé Charlie only rolled his eyes and playfully pecked her cheek. "Oh hush, no need to brag."

Nora smiled at the two. They would make a good married couple.

Suddenly, Tom Jr. squirmed in her arms. Nora sighed; this baby would never let her get any sleep. Parenthood was taking a toll on her.

"If you excuse me, I have a fussy baby to take care of." Nora apologized as she backed out of the room. Tom Jr.'s room was all the way on the other end of the hall, to keep him away from the noise of the rest of the family. Nora walked as quick as she could to his room as Tom Jr. opened his eyes and looked up at her in wonder. Babies were always cute like that.

Nora enter the baby room and walked to Tom Jr.'s crib, rocking him softly in her arms and humming a lullaby. For once, surprisingly, Tom had not began to cry as soon as he woke up and was only watching Nora as she kissed his head and lowered him into the crib. His eyes drifted closed as she began to stroke the soft hairs on his head.

"Tom Jr., what am I going to do with you?" Nora whispered softly with a smile as her baby hiccupped. Her baby. It was strange to think that she was the mother of this little bundle of life. Just a few years ago she was playing Tag with her brother, Charlie. Now the both of them were all grown up, and she had a baby and Charlie was getting married.

Life flew by fast and there was not enough time to waste it. That was one thing she learned. She only hoped that Tom Jr. would also learn that. He was the Baker's next generation. And with all 12 children bound to get married and have children someday, who knew how many children the Baker family would have. And Tom Jr. would be the oldest. Lord, help him.

**This was a filler chapter, as you could tell. I had absolutely NO idea how to end it, so sorry if it seems a bit choppy and rushed. I felt like Nora was being completely rejected in this story so I decided to put it in her viewpoint. And most of this chapter was a bunch of little pieces that I had written before I even knew I was going to start this story and decided to just jam them together into one big filler chapter. My big idea in the beginning was that Nora was getting married and the fathers didn't approve. But now it evolved into this plot line, which I like much better! Also, I joined together all my one shots for mainly two reasons. 1, I had completely forgotten about the wedding and realized I had barely written anything for it and 2, the family that's supposedly moving in to the nearby lake house is going to become a HUGE plot twist in this story. I already have the storyline written out and everything, so this was the chapter to just get the ball rolling.**


	21. Relationship Expert

**Okay, not many people reviewed on the last chapter… I get it that I was gone for awhile on vacation, but please don't give up on me! I haven't abandoned this story yet, I promise. Just a lot of drama has been going on and I'm also training for track season, insert a bunch of other stuff you probably don't care about, and yeah… a LOT has been thrown on my plate! I'm really sorry the story's lagging:( School's fast approaching as well, and I'm going to be swamped in homework and practice and acting lessons (long story) so just hang in there with me please! But to the people who DID review or are still reading my story, thank you so much! It really means a lot(:**

**And to numbah435spiritsong: I know I got the ages mixed up quite a lot, but I was just going off my viewpoint of the movie. And I realized some of the ages were wrong, but it just fit better for the story! Sorry for not getting them all correct!**

Lisa was frozen at her older sister's door, her hand balled into a fist poised right next to the chipped wood. One knock and all her answered were revealed. So what was stopping her? Nerves. Her heart was racing and her hands were clammy, and she felt helpless, as if someone was choking her. She hated it. Usually it wasn't her feeling like this, and it was her sister instead. But their roles were flipped. Lisa was always the one to give advice, not ask for it! But here she was in front of Becky's door in the middle of the night, her hand millimeters from the wood, mind whirling, frozen in place. Of all her sisters, she decided Becky would be most accepting and the most knowledgeable when it came to this love stuff. Plus they were only a couple years apart, so it made more sense. And anyways, she was closest to Becky. But what was she doing? _Just knock already, _she hissed to herself. Why did Jake have such an effect on her? With a final sigh, she made her decision and knocked on the door before she could change her mind.

A couple seconds later, she heard rustling on the other side and a muffled "wha-? from her sister before footsteps and then the door swung open and revealed Becky, eyes bleary and in a long night shirt.

"Lisa?" She asked, obviously confused, her voice raspy from the sleep. This wasn't normal, so Lisa wasn't shocked with the hint of surprise in her voice. "What are you doing?"

Lisa shuffled on the wooden flooring, unable to come up with an explanation. It was as if the words were frozen in her mouth and she couldn't breathe. She couldn't just be like "Oh you know, the usual, wide awake thinking about Jake and whether or not I should ask him out so he can fall in love with me." Lisa wasn't that kind of girl. It was all about school for her. Good grades and scholarships were constantly on her mind, and the pressure from her dad was what fueled her on. She didn't do boys or relationships or anything like that. Heck, she hadn't even had a boyfriend yet. But that didn't bother her; she had schoolwork to worry about.

Becky sighed, sensing she wasn't going to get a response and motioned for her sister to enter. "Come in. But this better be good, waking me up at-" she checking her watch. "2:19 in the morning."

Lisa walked in and sat down on Becky's bed. The door closed with a soft 'click' and Lisa knew there was no going back. Becky moved across the room, kicking a sundress lying messily on the floor out of the way and sat down next to Lisa. She motioned with her hands to explain.

"I think I'm in love with Jake Baker." Lisa blurted out, eyes wide and words rushed. There, she had said it. It was out and she couldn't take it back. Becky's eyes were just as wide as hers and her mouth was open in a little 'o' shape. She closed her mouth, and then opened it again as if to say something, but closing it again, like a fish. Lisa prayed she made the right decision. Maybe she was crazy, and that this was just a phase. That she didn't really like Jake, but instead only _thought _she did. But she knew that wasn't true. She liked Jake and that was that.

Becky finally opened her mouth again. "Wow," her voice shaky and confused. Lisa felt as if she did something wrong by the sound of Becky's voice, as if liking the boy was a crime. "I-I didn't know… have you, you know, told him yet?"

Lisa shook her head remorsefully. "No. I don't know whether or not he likes me back."

Becky frowned and looked out the window, looking troubled. Lisa watched her sister, waiting for the answer she so badly wanted.

Becky, sensing her sister was watching, turned to her and smiled a really big, almost fake smile. "That's wonderful. I'm glad you found someone to like."

Lisa perked up with her words, her heart soaring and relief flooding through her. So she wasn't crazy after all! She liked a boy and that was that! She felt dizzy and free and giddy all at the same time. "Thank you, Becky! Thank you so much, really. I was so worried that I was sounding crazy and I was just thinking about every single thing that could go wrong and I just panicked and-"

Becky forced a quiet laugh to shut Lisa up. "Congratulations, you like Jake. That's great! Wonderful." She said rather too cheerily to the early hour in the morning. "Are you going to tell him?"

Lisa bit her lip nervously. That was the question that ran through her head the whole evening, the only that kept her away. "I don't know. I honestly don't. Should I tell him? Ask him out on, like, a date or something? He has absolutely no idea, I'm sure of it."

Becky nodded, understanding. But still, Lisa could see something in the back of her eyes, twinkling and ever so present, although hidden. She didn't know what it was, but Becky was adamant on keeping it hidden away from Lisa at all costs. Her eyes were guarded and her mouth was formed into a big grin. It was confusing, but Lisa shrugged it off. It was 2am, of course her sister would be acting different. The poor girl only got a couple hours of sleep.

"So what do you think?" Lisa asked hopefully. Becky paused, her smile quickly diminishing and she took a deep breath. In, and out.

"I think you should ask him out." Becky said finally, flashing her sister a glance that held… envy? Disappointment? Lisa didn't know, but it was gone in a flash and she didn't care; her stomach was doing flips and somersaults! It was decided. She would ask Jake out.

"Oh, you think so? I hope he says yes, I really do want to go out with him. Oh, and if he says yes what will I wear? And how will I ask him? Becky, you'll have to plan _everything _with me!" Lisa gushed nonstop, feeling as if a weight was lifted off her chest and she could finally breathe again. She was too busy talking that she didn't notice her sister looking out the window, hurt and confusion clear on her features. And that night, Lisa fell asleep soundly for the first time in a quite awhile, her heart still thrumming happily. She was buzzing. She was going to ask Jake out, no matter what happened after.

**There you go! It was extremely difficult writing both of the girl's opinions in just Lisa's POV, but I really wanted to show how uncomfortable Becky was in this situation. So I hope I did well enough! You can already guess how confused Becky must be. She has a boyfriend but is starting to grow fond of Jake. But that was the major side plot I wanted to bring out. And it only gets more dramatic from here! And I'm just getting started, I have a whole long summary of the whole entire story from beginning to end, and I know exactly what's going to happen. Tell me what you all think about this plot, do you like it? I really hope so, because it's a lot of fun to write. Review please(:**


	22. Not a Chapter Again

**Okay firstly, to numbah435spiritsong: Aww, thank you sooo much!3 You seriously made my day when I read your review. Before I read it, I was struggling on how to write one of the future chapters and was beginning to wonder if I should just give up on the story in general. But then I read your review and it fueled me and I pounded out three new chapters! You're too sweet. Can I just say you're the best person in the world?**

**And also to willows-whomping: AHHHHHH! Can I seriously say I just grinned like an idiot for five minutes straight? I honestly had no idea my writing was so amazing; you just seriously blew me away! And I'm so glad you like it, gahh your whole review just made me so happy!(: Good enough to be a script? Geez, your too sweet!**

**And secondly, if everybody is still reading this story (because honestly my review column is dead; I said I was sorry for leaving you guys! Forgive me?) Does anybody know if the Murtaughs live at Lake Winnetka, or is their lake house just a vacation home like the Bakers? It's for a future chapter and I honestly have nooo idea. If you do, pleeease let me know? Thankyouu!**

**Thirdly, I feel so stupid. I recently searched up gondola because when I typed it out and suddenly didn't feel right, and apparently it's a boat that you ride up rivers… I meant it as a porch! So if that confused any of you, the Gondola I mention so frequently is a porch, not a boat. It's like one of these:**

**Or this:**

**Like the one in the movie? Where Charlie and Anne meet up? Okay, yeah… Just making it clear(:**


	23. Options

Lorraine closed her eyes as the familiar smell of lake water filled her nose. The wind whipped through her hair, cooling her instantly. She loved that feeling of riding across the lake in the Murtaugh's boat; in fact, she lived for it, although she wouldn't dare tell anyone. Although she pretended to hate the "gross" lake water and the way her hair got messy while riding around, she secretly loved it. It was her favorite part of the day. And not just because of that feeling. There was something else to the made it the best part. Or someone, rather.

Calvin, the only Murtaugh boy with a boating license, stood at the wheel of the boat, looking fit as ever in his red lifejacket as he steered the boat downstream, the motor parting them through the water at top speeds. With no destination in mind, Calvin tweaked the speedometer up high as they sped around the lake. They did this a lot, the two of them. It started after the campout. They began to hang out more and more, whether it was on the boat, or at one of their houses, or somewhere else. But Lorraine knew one thing; she was starting to like him.

Shocker, I know.

But it wasn't just his looks… Okay, his looks were a small part of it… half of it. Maybe three fourths if you must. But his personality was fun too, and the adventurous but quiet side of him compelled her to get to know him. And once she did, she realized how much of a great guy he was. And she needed a great guy in her life right now.

And so anytime he asked to hang out, she accepted and told her siblings not to bother them for the whole day. She needed that time to get him to like her; and she had tried, using her best seduction skills and tricks, roping him into her grip.

Calvin finally killed the motor, and Lorraine broke from though. She knew this was her chance. It had been bugging her for awhile now, and she decided it was about time to tell him that she liked him. And he would reply that he liked her to and they would go out and she could finally kiss his lips like she'd be dreaming about for awhile. Wait, scratch that. That sounded like she fantasized about him in her free time, and she c_ertainly _did not. Of course she didn't. She was Lorraine Baker. Pshhh.

As silence filled around them, Calvin jumped from behind the wheel and sat next to her on the bench, grinning from ear to ear.

"I was starting to get sick of the noise the motor makes," he explained with a laugh.

"It's okay, I was too." She smiled back at him, loving the sound his laugh made. Compared to the sound of the motor, it was wonderful. She could listen to it all day. "Listen, I've been meaning to tell you something for awhile now." She began, feeling relaxed and optimistic. She had told a lot of boys how she felt, and all of them replied with positive answers. She felt good about it, relaxed and cool.

Calvin looked at her expectantly, the corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a smile. It seemed as if he was always smiling, always happy. "Go ahead, I'm listening."

So here it went. "Calvin, I like you. Not as a friend, but something more. And I've… I've been meaning to tell you for awhile now, so… I just hope you feel the same way." She batted her eyelashes and pretended to act nervous. Boys were suckers for stuff like that. She learned that from her constant years studying boys. Now, she could read them like a book.

Calvin looked shocked, even a bit nervous as he registered her words. Lorraine hoped that her trick would work, and Calvin felt the same way.

Instead, it was the opposite.

"I'm really sorry. But I just don't feel the same way."

The words tumbled around in her head like a broken record, over and over as surprise overtook her. That was not the answer she had been expecting. He was supposed to say yes; everyone said yes! She wasn't used to this; what were these feelings? It was a mixture of rejection and hurt and shock and confusion and embarrassment. A whole lot of it all poured into one. Her cheeks now burned, and it wasn't because of the sun. What Calvin said had hurt, a lot. She had never felt all those feelings before, and it was new to her. What was it called again? Oh yeah…. Rejection. Even the word on her tongue felt bitter, like poison.

"Oh," was all she could say. She didn't know what else _to _say. What did people say after getting rejected? She had heard of other people getting rejected and how awful it felt, but what did they say after it? "That's fine."

That was a good enough answer, right? She was new to this. Instead of being new to admitting her feelings like most people were, she was new to rejection. As conceited and arrogant as that sounded.

"We'll still stay friend though, yeah?" Calvin asked hopefully, a guilty smile across his face. She was the one that used to do that. Lorraine had rejected plenty of people, the same smile across her flawless features as she said those exact words. It was routine for her; a daily thing. What did the guys say after that?

"Of course." And then the air became awkward for the first time and Lorraine had no idea what to do. What were you supposed to do in an awkward silence? She never had those! And she still felt hurt and confused and disappointed; she wasn't losing her touch, was she? No, she couldn't have been! Absolutely not, she refused to think of it. Instead, she asked.

"Just one question… Why don't you like me?" Lorraine quipped, twiddling her thumbs together and feeling anxious around a boy for the first time. She felt like a thirteen year old again, when she went through a pink braces and glasses phase and had a huge crush on Billy Graham. That was the worst year of her life, and she hated it so bad she sometimes pretended it never happened. A lot of things happened that year, and the rejection by Billy was just a part of it. She had told him how she felt, and he completely rejected her. That was the only time she had been rejected and it hurt too much that she buried it with the plenty other relationships she had with boys. And of course, three years later he was the one vying for her attention and getting on his hands and knees for her, but she had ignored him and walked confidently past him in the halls without a care in the world. She used to think of it as payback. But no one deserved to feel this feeling. Not even if they rejected you in the past.

Calvin was taken by surprise with the question, and he looked away. "It's not because you're not pretty; you're gorgeous, in fact. Don't ever let anyone tell you different." That was another thing she liked about Calvin. No matter what he did, he never failed to make her feel beautiful. "But I just don't think you're my type. Our personalities are just too different and I feel were better off as friends. I hope you don't mind. It's not you, it's me. I promise."

Lorraine nodded and forced herself to give him a smile. "I get it. Thank you for telling me." And no matter how much Lorraine felt crushed at the moment, she knew she had to get over him. He didn't like her like that and it was highly unlikely it would ever change.

**Kate's POV**

"So which do you like better? Frills or ruffles?" Kate asked Anne as she held up two different cloth materials. They were both for the wedding dress, and Kate thought that the materials would give the dress more texture and uniqueness. They could easily pin the fabric on to Anne's already bought silk a-line wedding dress. It would be easy, and it would give the dress a certain charm. Anne, on the other hand, thought they were too girly and childlike.

Anne frowned for the third time that night. "Sorry, Kate. No ruffles, no frills, I just want a simple, elegant wedding dress."

Kate sighed in disagreement, but didn't press the subject any further as she laid the two materials back down on the kitchen counter and took a sip of her glass of wine. "So, have you decided when we're going to look at the cakes yet?"

Anne frowned again, rubbing the sides of her temples as she rested her head on her hands. Her stomach grew extremely queasy. "No. It's impossible; this whole thing is so stressful. How did you do this without having your hair fall out and you face breaking out?"

Kate laughed. "Patience, darling. It all gets easier from here. All we need to do is wedding invitations, the cake, flower arrangements, and hire a preacher. Then we get the boys and a couple of other people to set up the whole wedding arrangement and the vines, and we're set."

Anne groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, suddenly feeling queasy again. Her stomach was rolling in waves. But she pushed the feeling down and ignored it. This sometimes happened when she was nervous; she built herself up to the point where she would feel ill. "That's too much work for one girl. I don't think I'll be alive after this summer is over."

"You can do it. I know you honey, you're a hardworking girl. I'm glad Charlie married you; you all make a good couple."

Anne blushed, suddenly bashful. "Thank you. But if I want to get through this wedding I'm gonna need a flask of any type of alcohol each day for the rest of the summer."

Kate laughed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll try and see what I can do."

Anne suddenly winced, clutching a hand to her stomach as it got the familiar washy, nauseous feeling. It had been happening a lot that day, and Anne had begun to think it was just nerves. But now it felt as if she might…

"I think I'm going to be sick." Anne covered her mouth with her hand as she dashed to the nearest bathroom. Kate looked up from her wedding magazine in alarm, watching as her future daughter-in-law ran down the hall.

"What?! Are you okay?" She asked but Anne didn't reply as she left the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Anne returned with a green face and a grimace. She sat down on her barstool with a plop, feeling a million times worse. "Sorry. I don't know what happened, I just got sick."

Kate watched her worriedly as she got up to grab the Advil from the cabinet in the hall.

"And it happened this morning too," Anne called after her as she disappeared momentarily. "I don't know why. I think it was the bad sushi Charlie and I ate last night. I told him the sushi was no good at all. He got it from the gas station for crying out loud."

"Is Charlie sick too?" Kate asked as she returned, holding two pink pills in her hand.

Anne shook her head. "No. We ate from different trays so I guess I got the bad one."

Kate frowned. "Well, I can't have the bride sick right now! This is the worst time possible, we have the appointment tomorrow to pick out the flower arrangements and it's extremely important! We can't pick the flowers for you, you have to do it."

Anne smiled at her as she popped the two Advil in her mouth and took a swig of water. "I'll be fine by tomorrow Kate. It's just a mild case; if I had it bad I would still be hovering over a toilet. But I'm not, so that's a good sign, right?"

"I guess," Kate admitted. "But promise me this; no more sushi until the weddings over, okay?"

"Trust me. I'm staying away from sushi by all costs from now on. I promise."

**Sorry I didn't even sound like myself writing this chapter… It was late at night and it was stormy and I couldn't sleep even though I was exhausted. Plus, writing Lorraine's personality was entirely new to me, and I had no idea how to make it sound realistic! Sorry if it's rubbish(:**


	24. Deja Vu

Mark sat on the dock with his legs dangling over the side, swirling the murky water around with his big toe as he watched his siblings and his friends play in the shallows. He wasn't up for swimming today; for some reason the thought just didn't appeal to him. He'd much rather go wander into the forest in search for rare bugs, but his father never let him without someone else by his side. Kim was usually the one to accompany him since she loved taking nature walks through the forest, but today she hadn't wanted to. So Mark was stuck at the lake with the rest of the family. Not like it was torture or anything, but still. Mark felt best alone in the shadows of the trees, away from the chaos and drama of the wedding and girl-boy trouble. He was never one to care about that kind of stuff. He was more relaxed and carefree when alone then around people. No wonder his siblings used to call him "Fed-Ex". He was so unlike his brothers and sisters.

Speaking of, the whole gang was now in the midst of playing Marco Polo, and Sarah was "it", with her eyes clamped tightly closed and arms outstretched. At the moment she was drifting closer and closer to Elliot's voice, who had a goofy grin plastered across his face the whole time as he backed up each time she took a step forward. The rest of the family rolled their eyes at the two. Every time either of the two was it they'd advance on the other. Like always. Typical lovey-dovey stuff Mark never understood.

"Come on, Sarah! That's the third time you've been it, and you always go for Elliot." Jake complained with an eye roll. Everyone else murmured in agreement. Sarah opened her eyes with a pout.

"I can't help it! I just go to whoever is closest to me, that's all." She lied blatantly with a shrug. Elliot laughed quietly into his hand. It seemed as if the two were always sharing inside jokes and secrets; somehow, in one of those rare relationships that rarely ever happened, they were both each other's best friends and lovers. Mark was grossed out with the whole thing. He hoped if he ever found himself a girlfriend, or boyfriend, or whoever he was interested in when the time came, that he wouldn't be as sickeningly sweet as them.

"Hey, look!" Calvin suddenly shouted, his head turned to the east, eyes squinted against the sun and pointing at something far off on the shore. Mark, as well as the rest of his family, raised their heads and scanned the horizon for whatever he was looking at, but it was hard because the sun was just beginning to set, sending blindingly bright light in that direction. Mark squinted and covered the tops of his eyes with his hand. And then he did see what Calvin was looking at.

All the way across the lake, parked right on the shoreline, were three fairly large moving trucks parked and open. And right above them, a house that had been vacant for years.

"You don't think someone's moving in, do you?" Kenneth asked as he leaned forward, as if that would give him a better view. Mark looked closer and could see a couple of people near the trucks, mere dots from his viewpoint, unloading and dragging furniture into the house. Two people stood near the door, directing everyone else.

"Maybe. That house has been vacant for years. Long before any of us came here." Lisa pointed out, matter-of-factly.

Becky nudged her sister. "Yeah, but someone could've owned the house back then. Just never used it."

Lisa shrugged, unable to say anything else. As the children gazed off the shore to the mysterious house, Mark thought nothing of it and returned to drawing pictures in the water with his toe. People moved to Lake Winnetka all the time. It wasn't just them living here, after all; there were plenty of other families vacationing down by the lake. He saw them all the time when he took trips into town for bait and lures.

"Kids, burgers are ready!" Kate's voice rang across the lake from the Baker's household, and the water became chaos as everyone raced each other for the best burger, creating waves in their wake. Mark joined them in the race uphill, every one of them now forgetting about the strange house and the family nearby.

Jake sat on the splintery picnic bench between Lisa and Mark, nibbling half-heartedly on his burger. Nigel and Kyle were opposite of him, talking about something Jake couldn't even focus on. His mind was instead thinking of a certain girl; Becky. She was in the other picnic table on his right, laughing as Mike shoved fries up his nose. That should be him that she was laughing at. Smiling at. He deserved it; he deserved her! But things went wrong and now he had no chance. He should have just listened to his instincts and forgotten about his feelings for her. But Charlie convinced him to do the very thing he wished he didn't. If he just keep his mouth shut that day in the forest, everything would be perfect! Heck, if his hormones did go out of control, things would be perfect! But now, his heart was crushed and he was currently avoiding her with reason. Every time the two talked, it was awkward and forced, and so Jake took to avoiding her every chance he got. Getting rejected could possibly be the worst feeling on earth, Jake had decided.

"Come on Nigel; let's have a tree climbing contest!" Kyle's voice snapped the heart broken boy from his thoughts and he watched the two twins eagerly get up and run towards the trees, leaving their plates behind. Then he noticed a pair of eyes, watching him. Jake turned to the right and met Becky's eyes carefully eyeing him, a concerned expression spread across her face.

He almost jumped out of his skin, and quickly turned away. His heart was racing and he could feel his face heating up. Even looking at her was hard for him. If only things were different…

A couple seconds later he looked back at her cautiously. She wasn't looking at him anymore, but it was clear in her expression that she was hurt. A wave of guiltiness washed over him and he looked down at his plate, ashamed.

He finished the rest of the meal in silence.

Suddenly, Jake heard something behind him. A branch cracking. A scream. And then a loud thud.

Jake whirled around and his stomach immediately began to churn. Lying on the forest floor in a crumpled heap was Nigel, leaves spread out around him and the broken branch on top of his frail figure. His arm was contorted in some weird fashion, but the rest of him was silent.

"Nigel!" Kyle was up in the tree still, hanging on to a branch on the lower part of the tree for dear life and calling to his brother relentlessly. "Nigel! Are you okay? Get up!" Fear and desperation was clear in his voice.

Tom and Jimmy were on their feet in seconds, sprinting towards the broken boy on the ground. Jake was fast to follow the two fathers as he raced towards his brother, praying that the worst had not happened.

"Nigel! Nigel, can you hear me?" Tom asked urgently as they approached him. Silence was all that he gave them, so the three guys grabbed the tree branch and lifted it off the boy.

Tom crouched down next to his son and shook him softly. "Nigel?"

Nigel gave out a weak moan that caught in his throat halfway. He coughed a couple times. "Dad… it hurts." He whimpered.

"What hurts? Show me!" Tom beckoned his son, and Nigel slowly raised his left hand to point to his right hand.

"My arm, Daddy. It's broken, I think… Fix it, please?" Despite the situation going on around them, Nigel was still naive as ever and it struck Jake as funny. But not was not the time to laugh, Jake knew for certain.

"Somebody start up a car! We gotta get to the hospital."

Jake was right on Tom's feet as he carried Nigel in his arms to the doors of the hospital. The rest of the two families were right behind them, followed close behind. To bystanders, they were a desperate, frenzied parade filled with Nigel's moaning, Kyle's constant nurturing words directed at his brother, and millions of questions flying out of everyone else's mouths. If he wasn't a part of this family, he probably would have gaped and pointed at them as well.

"Someone go check us in!" Tom called out to whichever family member that would listen, but no one heard him over the noise they were all making. Nigel was still in his arms as he raced towards the right wing of the hospital, used for minor emergencies like Nigel's. Realizing that none of the older kids were going to do it, Jake rolled his eyes and made a move towards the front desk. But right as he did, Becky did as well and the two halted in their step. The rest of the family moved on without them, following the parade down the hall with Tom and Nigel in front. And then the hospital doors shut and they were alone.

Jake shook his head, realizing how ridiculous he looked halting in the middle of the hall staring at her like a deer in headlights, and began moving towards the front desk. Becky slowly fell in step beside him, her hands clasped together.

"Hi," she began, a nervous smile spreading across her face.

"Hey," Jake gave her an awkward smile back.

The two walked in uncomfortable silence the rest of the way to the desk, Jake leading the way.

"I hate this place," Becky suddenly broke the silence, looking at the white washed walls in disgust. "It reminds me of the time Nora had her baby. Even though that was a happy moment, it was still really scary."

Jake nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know. It's like déjà vu in here…" They walked in silence for a couple more steps, not knowing what else to say.

"I'm scared for Nigel," Jake broke the silence, voicing what was bothering him ever since he ran up to the broken boy in a crumpled heap on the forest floor. He couldn't help it. That was his brother in the emergency room, and there was nothing he could do to help him.

Becky looked at Jake in concern for the second time that night. It made Jake feel like a child once again. "Everything's going to be alright. I promise,"

At that moment, something clicked in Jake and suddenly he felt like time had rewound back when none of the romance drama had started, and him and Becky were still best friends. It felt as if those words had a whole lot more meaning in them than Nigel's arm. A hidden layer inside. Like those little china dolls that opened up, and inside was a littler doll packed neatly inside. It was as if, inside those words, she was telling him the best was yet to come. That it wasn't over yet. He felt a spark of hope that maybe; just maybe, this wasn't the end of his and Becky's story. It could easily have been the beginning. At that moment, Jake swore he heard the shattering of that thin layer of denial and replaced with a thick veil of hope.

The two of them finally approached the front desk, where a bored, middle-aged woman was sitting, chewing a piece of bubble gum quite loudly and resting her chin on her elbow. She raised her head when she saw the two.

"Can I help you?" She asked, disinterested. The rest of the waiting room was oddly empty, so it wasn't a wonder she was bored.

"Umm, my brother just went into that hospital wing over there, for minor emergencies. He fell from a tree and we think he broke some bones, and he also fainted. So we-"

"Name please." The lady interrupted him without a care in the word, looking at her computer screen, eyes glazed over. Jake felt his blood boiling but answered nonetheless. Next to him, Becky glared daggers at the lady. That made Jake feel a bit better, her standing up for him. His heart beat quickened.

"Me or my brother?" He asked, just to annoy the lady even more. Becky snorted and quickly covered her mouth. Jake grinned at her with a wink before turning back to the lady. He could tell she was close to snapping.

"Your brother." She replied in a monotone voice.

"Nigel Baker." She proceeded to write the name down on a fairly large packet of paper. Then, when she was complete, she dumped the packet in front of him.

"Have his parents or guardians fill that out and give it back to me as soon as you can."

"Thank you," Jake gave her a cheesy smile and grabbed the packet before walking away from the lady, Becky following behind him and stifling her giggles.

"That lady was certainly rude." She smirked and fell in step next to him.

Jake felt himself smile out of habit, and for the first time, it wasn't forced. In that moment, with Becky at his side once again, with no awkwardness between them as they walked down the halls of the familiar hospital, he actually felt happy. But at the same time, he knew that if love was a sickness, he had caught it bad. Real bad.

Two hours later, Nigel now had a red cast wrapped tightly around his arm and was lying on the Baker's living room couch, knocked out with pain killers. Jake and Sarah were sitting on the other couch across from their brother as he slept peacefully. The two of them had offered to be his personal servant for the next two days as his body adjusted to the broken bone. Luckily, the doctor had told him he fell in such a position that only his left arm was broken. He had only blacked out because of the pain, not because of any brain or heart damage like their mother had feared.

"I'm just glad he's okay." Sarah broke the silence, watching her brother's chest rise and fall in a steady movement. Jake hummed in agreement, not really up for a conversation. His mind was still reeling with thoughts.

"I saw you talking to Becky today," It was like Sarah had read his mind. It was scary how easily she could do that.

Jake shrugged, feeling the corners of his mouth twitched. "Yeah. Nothing happened, of course, but I'm just glad that everything's not as awkward between us anymore."

Sarah smiled at her brother. She was the only one that Jake had told about that day in the forest. The rejection and the hurt he felt, and she had helped him through most of it. "I'm glad," was all she said, but it was enough for Jake to know she was happy for him.

And he was too.


	25. Another Twist in the Plot

Elliot looped his fingers through Sarah's, and she felt her face heat up and her skin get goose bumps. Just being around Elliot caused her to feel like this daily. The familiar skin heating, heart racing, hands clamming sensation that coursed through her every time she was near him. It was obvious she was in love, and she hoped he felt the same way. Because she was on a high and wasn't getting off any time soon.

Comfortable silence surrounded the two of them as they headed to their favorite spot, the gondola. Ever since that first mud fight, they met each other there whenever possible. It just held so many happy memories of first kisses, laughs, heart to heart conversations, and hugs that it deemed worthy enough to be their permanent date spot. And they went there at least three times a week to meet each other. It was rare that they ever got to spend a single moment alone back at the houses and were usually interrupted by one of their siblings, telling them to "get a room" or the likes. And also, the haunting prospect that summer wouldn't last forever hung over them like a storm cloud. Although they didn't talk about it, it was still ever so present and lingering in the air between them. But for now, they made an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't talk about what was bound to happen and instead live in the present.

And so Sarah and Elliot trekked through the forest, hands intertwined and hearts beating at the same rhythm. Leaves crunched under their boots with every step, and bird songs filled the air. It was like a scene in a movie; the whole setting was perfect and surreal. Sarah couldn't feel any happier than right now.

"Elliot?" She wondered aloud, her voice chopping through the surprisingly chilly air. He hummed in response, his eyes focused ahead and a smile on his face. "You won't forget me after this summer, right?"

Elliot quickly looked over at her in shock, not expecting that question. "Why do you ask?" His voice was laced with worry. It was obvious now to her that he loved her just as much as she loved him. That brought a goofy grin to her face.

"No reason," She looked at him and couldn't help but smile. The way he looked when he was nervous was so adorable, how his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and his eyes grew big. He returned the smile as he paused for a second, as if gathering his thoughts before speaking. That was one of the things she liked most about him; he was so collected and calm. Always thinking before he spoke. Sarah was the complete opposite, speaking without thinking and sometimes even accidently hurting someone's feelings. They were opposites, but like they say: opposites attract.

"Sarah, no matter how hard I try I don't think I could or ever will forget you." He told her before kissing her lightly on her cheek and making every fiber in her body erupt into fireworks and creating a shock wave in her feet all the way up to her head. The imprint of his lips were still a ghost on her skin as they continued on down the pathway.

"Good, because I know for a fact I wouldn't forget you either." Sarah said, her face beaming.

"Aww. You're cute when you're happy." Elliot laughed and flicked her on her nose. Sarah rubbed it and pretended to look offended

"Don't touch my nose; you're gonna get it all dirty with your grubby fingers." She pretended to be offended, hitting her hips against his and knocking him momentarily off the path. Elliot rolled his eyes with a laugh and jumped back on the path, copying her move and sending her stumbling.

"My fingers are NOT grubby. And your nose is already dirty," suddenly Elliot was smearing dirt and grass onto her nose, making her scream and jump back in alarm. "See?"

Elliot laughed as Sarah wiped all the dirt from her nose, giving him a scowl the whole time. "Oh, you'll pay for that."

"Aww. You're cute when you're mad." He teased, a smirk plastered on his face. Even through her act, Sarah couldn't help but smile at it.

"Just shut up and run," Sarah attempted to hide her smile as she scooped a handful of dirt. Elliot took off running in the direction of the gondola with Sarah close behind, the two of them trying to stifle their laughter. Hanging out at the gondola usually ended up with mud fights in the shallows of the lake, so this was no different.

Elliot quickly ducked behind a large oak tree, its leaves a deep green. Sarah followed him, laughing as she blindly lodged the clump of mud in Elliot's direction. He easily dodged it and stuck out his tongue.

"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me." Elliot taunted, and she rolled her eyes at his antics but walked up to him.

"Come here, then," she mumbled, quickly looping her arms around her boyfriend's neck and nuzzling into his shoulder. She felt his arms move and wrap around her hips, pulling her close. She breathed in and smiled. He smelled like mint and chlorine. It was a nice mixture, when put together. It became the smell she recognized as Elliot's.

"I'll never forget you, you know that?" Elliot said, his lips pressed against her head. Sarah smiled even wider, if possible. She raised her head to look up at him but didn't release him from her arms.

"And I won't forget you." With one last smile she locked her lips with his. He was surprised at first but quickly kissed back, pulling her even closer to his body. Their lips fit together perfectly, Sarah realized with a jumble of giddy emotions. It was surprising how happy someone could make you.

She moved her hands up and knotted her fingers in his hair and kissed him back, loving the feeling of being together with no interruptions stopping them. No fathers around, or siblings either, no chaos and destruction and drama. Just the two of them, their lips locked and breathing rough.

Elliot quickly deepened the kiss, poking at his girlfriend's lips with his tongue, begging for entrance. She parted her lips a bit and Elliot took the opportunity before she could do anything else. Sarah could feel her face flushing and her heartbeat quickening as their tongues battled for dominance. Elliot won, being the competitive, cheeky boy Sarah came to know and love. So instead, she let him kiss her as she slowly trailed her hands down his rock hard stomach and looped her fingers into the belt loops on his pants, tugging him closer. Elliot sighed into the kiss before pulling away and resting his forehead on hers. Sarah opened her eyes to meet his, catching her breath, a pout on her lips. She wanted to keep kissing him, to be able to kiss him for the rest of the eternity. His eyes wandered across her face as Sarah watched him.

"What?" She finally asked with a giggle. She felt him shrug, their bodies still pressed up together.

"I'm memorizing your face as much as possible, so when… you know… you have to leave, I'll remember this moment forever." He told her with a smile before moving back and planting a kiss on her forehead, then her nose, and lastly her lips.

Sarah opened her eyes when he finally broke the embrace. "That was probably the most cheesiest thing you've ever said to me." She taunted him with a smile. His face turned red as he shrugged. "But I like it."

"I thought so. Now, come on!" Elliot chuckled, his face turning to his original color as he reached out and looped his fingers in hers and the two began walking again.

The gondola came into view and Sarah followed Elliot up the steps, both of their hands still intertwined and comfortable silence around them. Suddenly, Elliot stopped dead in his tracks and Sarah knocked into him, almost barreling the both of them over.

"What…?" Elliot's voice sounded flabbergasted. Confused, Sarah pushed him to the side and peaked over his shoulder to see what was wrong.

Sitting on the steps opposite them was Henry and Becky, their lips locked. Doing the exact same thing Elliot and Sarah were just doing. The only different thing was that Henry's hands were dangerously low on Becky's hips, brushing the hemline of her shirt. And she was letting him!

"What… the hell?! Get off my sister!" Elliot screeched in fury and charged over to them. The two broke apart and leapt almost two feet backwards, startled that they were caught in the act. Henry gasped as Elliot suddenly pushed him off the gondola's four steps and down onto the dirt below.

"What do you think you were just doing to her? I saw everything!" Elliot was on a rampage, now hurtling down the steps to meet Henry at the bottom. He loomed over the poor boy in rage, fuming. Sarah quickly darted past Becky, who was still rooted on the steps in shock, and down the steps to the two boys.

Henry got himself up from the ground and backed away, nervous. "I-I'm sorry man! I didn't know you were there. I just-"

"Just what?! She has a boyfriend, you… you idiot!" Elliot gave Henry's chest a shove, but it barely moved the bulky, muscular boy. "You just threw yourself at her, didn't you? Thought nobody would see you two? WELL I JUST DID!"

"Elliot, stop!" Becky broke from her trance and leapt up from her spot, turning on her brother. "Don't you dare blame this on him! I was part of it, too!"

Elliot whirled towards his sister, his anger now peaking. "Exactly! You have a boyfriend, Becky! What are you, stupid or something?"

Something snapped in Becky. Sarah watched as the color of her eyes changed from an ocean blue to a dark, blooming navy. "**What **did you just **call** me?" She asked, her voice laced with venom.

Elliot immediately halted, realizing what he just said. "Oh! N-n-no! Becky, I didn't mean it like that. It's Henry that's the stupid one. I was just- I was just trying to protect you!"

"No! You're just being an overprotective, controlling twat that's trying to control my life, just like dad! Newsflash! I DON'T need protection. God, why does everyone think I need it? I'm 14 years old, and I can make my own decisions! I. Can. Handle myself." And with that Becky was leapt from the gondola and stormed off, mainly only in a hurry to escape the horrors of what she just brought upon herself.

"Becky, wait! I'm sorry!" Elliot called after her, but Becky quickly disappeared down the hill towards the lake.

Elliot turned to Henry, angrier than ever. "Look what you just did!"

Sarah quickly stepped in between the two, bringing her hands up to separate Elliot from Henry. "Elliot, stop it before you hurt him! Just calm down," she pleaded, watching Elliot's chest rise up in down in a scary manor. He was livid. "We can work this out. I'm just as mad as you are, but there's no need to pummel my brother into a pulp. Even though I'd love to see that right now,"

When Elliot was mad, he didn't think. He wasn't calm and controlled like he normally was, he didn't think before he spoke, and he quite resembled Sarah and he tendency to do be reckless. Or, in this case, beat someone up without an explanation. He really, in a certain way, was just like his father: overprotective.

Slowly, at the sound of Sarah's voice Elliot backed away, but his glare remained focused on Henry. Henry looked back and forth between Sarah and Elliot, his hands positioned into fists in case he needed to protect himself. But before Elliot could do anything else, Sarah whirled on Henry.

"How could you?" She spat at him, her fury now taking over once she knew Elliot wasn't going to do anything dangerous. "Jake loves her. He loves her, and you kissed her behind his back! You're his **brother**!"

Henry looked dumbfounded, and panic was written all across his face. "What?! How did you expect me to know that? I thought he liked Lisa!"

"See? You're so arrogant that you don't even know what's going on with Jake right now! He's hurt and lost and confused and I'm the only one that's been noticing. You're an awful brother!"

Hurt and fury lit up Henry's eyes and Sarah knew she had taken it a step too far, per usual. _Right on cue, Sarah Baker. _She thought to herself.

"I told you I didn't know! If I did, I wouldn't have kissed her. It was a mistake! I know I was wrong. But you have no right to call me a bad brother. Last time I checked, I wasn't hooking up with my boyfriend in a tent in the middle of the night, right under dad's nose!"

That quickly shut Sarah up. "W-what? What are you talking about? That has nothing to do with what just happened. I-I mean, not that I did that-" she began to stutter, not knowing what else to say. That night she could've sworn everybody was asleep. Had he been up as well?

Henry smirked. "Yeah, that's right! I saw it. I went inside for a glass of water and when I came out, I saw Elliot sneaking towards your tent. And guess what? I realized just now, it is s_o easy _to tweak one little tiny detail. Everybody has secrets. You have yours and I have mine. Why tell those secrets to the world, am I right? And anyways what happened inside that tent, Sarah Baker?"

Sarah's eyes widened, distrust and desperation rolling off her in waves. She finally understood. In bargain for keeping his secret, he would keep hers. "You wouldn't…"

"Oh, I would." Henry nodded, his eyes matching hers in desperation. " Come on, Sarah. Just forget it. No need to create every more drama in our family; the wedding is plenty enough. Jake doesn't need any either, if he's hurting so bad. So… nothing happened here, right?"

And all at once, Sarah felt hatred towards her brother so big it almost scared her. Mixed with it was the sensation of being hurt, knowing her brother would blackmail her just to keep a secret from the rest of the family. A very big one at that.

"I hate you," Sarah whispered, feeling tears well in her eyes. She didn't know why, but she was frustrated and conflicted all at once.

Henry's face fell, but he didn't back down. "I know. Do we have a deal?"

Sarah glared daggers at her awful brother. "Deal,"

**Yes, this is one of the plot twists I've been talking about. I really, really hope you guys don't hate me for it! I'm kind of scared of how you guys will react. Didn't expect that coming, did you? That was the plan(: And that fight was really heated, I know... Don't worry, they'll calm down soon enough! Sarah doesn't literally hate Henry, I just needed to spice things up, and anyways, a lot of people were telling me in their reviews that they liked Henry and Becky together better than Becky and Jake. It was one of the pairings that were most common in other fanfictions. So I was just trying to make everybody happy with this story(: And add more drama… And I'm not saying Becky's going to end up with Henry, but I'm not saying she's going to end up with Jake either… Only I know what happens in the end! But what did you guys think about this chapter?**

**And okay, I surprisingly really loved how the Sarah/Elliot kissing scene came out. It went shockingly well, and I thought when the time came and I'd have to write it, that it would be sloppy and poorly written. But I quite like how it turned out to be(: I'm only 14, so I haven't had any experience with the whole French kissing thing. Hehe(; But that part was for all of you Sarah/Elliot shippers!**

**And on another note, I dunno why, but I've just always imagined Sarah and Elliot to be the kind of couple that expresses their love daily and is the kind of touchy-feely pair. So that's why I made them all lovey-dovey in the beginning. The two of them haven't had many scenes like that together anymore, and so they needed it. I could write about the two of them all day. They kind of remind me of Allie and Noah from the Notebook, if any of you have watched that movie(:**

**And also, on the angry parts, I had no idea how to display the yelling and fighting scene so I bolded some of the letters to give the words more character. Sorry if that annoys you! I don't know how else to show the anger that was being thrown around.**

**And one last thing, I've kind of realized I've made a lot of different characters have mud fights. I don't know why, but I guess a mud fight between a couple sounds cute, so… oh well! I promise I won't write any more mud fight situations. (;**

**Love you guys3**


	26. Trouble

As the end of the week was nearing its close, Lisa still hadn't given up on her promise. She was _still _going to ask Jake out, no matter what. That previous night talking to Becky made her feel a bit more confident then she originally had been. The two sisters talked for what seemed like all night about how she would ask him, when, and, of course, what she would wear. Becky asked her for every single detail about it, although Lisa hadn't a clue as to why she would even care in the first place. But she shrugged it off and allowed her sister to eavesdrop on her plan. But, to be honest… she didn't have a plan. She was just going to find him and pop the question. Even if he said no… It was worth a try!

And so that Saturday evening, Lisa steered one of the Murtaugh's Jet Ski towards the Baker dock, her mind a wish wash of emotions and feelings. Nerves were making her jittery, and she could feel her hands trembling against the Jet Ski's handles. Earlier on that morning, she had managed to get Jake alone with her while everyone played a mediocre game of volleyball, but nerves kicked in and she chickened out. She ended up rambling on about things she can't even remember until running off inside for the "bathroom". But that situation was what fueled her on; made it a necessity to ask him out tonight! Lisa Murtaugh never backed out on anything. Never in her whole life.

But even as she thought this, her stomach was a butterfly habitat that would not go away, no matter how many times she reminded herself it would be okay.

The Jet Ski neared the Baker's dock and she could easily point out Jake, Mark, Mike, and the twins Nigel and Kyle on the shoreline, looking for fish in the shallows. Nigel had his cast covered with a big Ziploc baggie so it wouldn't get wet.

With a final gulp, she parked the Jet Ski and hopped onto the molded wood of the dock, her water shoes squishing with every step. Mike looked up at the sound of her footsteps and nodded at her before nudging the others.

"Hey," Lisa smiled nervously, fiddling with her hands as she approached them. "Whatcha guys up to?"

"We're looking for minnows. I want to study their life span and it might take the whole rest of the trip to fully study it," Mark explained quietly as he bent over the water's edge, bucket in hand.

Lisa looked at Jake funny, and he shrugged and rolled his eyes as if to say "just go with it." Lisa stifled her giggles.

"Want to help?" Kyle asked, his voice on the edge of loud and Mark quickly gave him a glare.

"Don't be so loud, you'll scare them away!" Mark scolded his younger brother, who quickly covered his mouth.

Lisa smiled at the two's bickering. Even though they could all sometimes be at each other's throats, the Bakers were closer than any family she'd seen. They had this invisible bond of some sort she never knew how to explain.

"Anyways, sorry. I can't. I was actually just stop by to see if Jake wanted to hang out." Lisa told the two before looking up at Jake with a shy smile. "We haven't ever really hung out alone for awhile, and I thought it would be fun."

Jake gave a look of relief as he eagerly made his way to the sandy bank, splashing water as he went. Mark shouted at him that he was scaring away the fish, but Jake didn't reply and finally caught up to Lisa with a grin.

"Thank you for saving me," He said under his breath to Lisa, who grinned involuntarily.

"Not a problem." She giggled. "Sorry, Mark! We'll catch up with you guys later." Lisa waved to the other boys as she set off into the forest, no specific destination in mind. As the others waved back, Jake followed her curiously, running to fall in step beside her.

"Where to, Madame?" He asked playfully, nudging her with his elbow. Lisa rolled her eyes jokingly and pushed him away.

"Neverland, you dork." She said sarcastically. Jake snorted beside her, but out of the corner of her eye she could see him smiling."Come on,"

And so for the next hour and a half, the two wandered around the edge of the forest without a care in the world, making random small talk, enjoying each other's company, and just joking around like they usually did. It wasn't awkward or forced like Lisa was afraid it would be. It was just natural; like they had been friends for years. When in reality, they had been. Friends ever since that fateful summer four years ago, while their parents clashed. Luckily, things were resolved and they went back to normal the rest of the summer, acting as if they hadn't just been enemies. Then summer was suddenly over and the Bakers left. And after that, they just never spoke to each other in the width span of four years. But nonetheless, in a sense, Lisa and Jake had still been friends during that time.

After a couple minutes of comfortable silence, an idea formed inside of Lisa's head. Something that could help her ask him out.

"Let's play a game!" She announced giddily, already excited. Jake perked up at her sudden tone and raised his eyebrows at her.

"Alright," He gave a little chuckle. "What do you have in mind?"

Lisa smiled at the sound of his laugh before jumping into the rules of the game. "Okay, so it's called Questions. Let's say I ask you a question. You have either two options; to answer it, or to skip it. If one of the players chooses to skip the question, then the other player has to answer the question they ask and then they win. If they can't answer it and skip it, the game continues."

This would be the perfect opportunity to ask him out without the usual awkwardness of the situation. Lisa could already picture the question rolling off her tongue, him saying yes, the two hugging. But first, she'd have to ask a few questions before hand to warm them up. All she needed was Jake to agree.

"Sounds complicated…" Jake said, rather unconvinced. "But let's give it a try."

Lisa cheered inside her head. "I'll go first. Umm… what's your favorite color?" Lisa decided to go with the easiest question first.

"Easy. Green." Jake decided with a small. "I ask now, right? Umm… what's your favorite season?"

Lisa smiled at that question. "Summer by far. I love coming to this lake; it's one of the things I look forward to all year."

"Aww, that's cute." Jake chuckled. Already, Lisa could tell they were nearing the house and began to panic. She needed more time! As they followed the dirt trail, Lisa began to grow nervous. At the end she could see the Baker's lake house in the distance.

"My turn now, right?" Lisa asked and Jake nodded. "What's your biggest pet peeve?"

Jake pondered his answer for a second. "I don't know why, but when people scrape their plate with a fork it always gets to me. I just hate the sound." He mused with a smile.

Lisa giggled, nodding her head in agreement. As the last tree past them, she grabbed onto Jake's hand and tugged him in the direction of the lake shore. "Come on, I want to go feel the water." She lied, really only needing more time. "We can continue our game there."

Jake nodded and allowed her to tug him in the direction of the sandy shoreline. Together, the two of them walked onto the wobbly dock and sat at the edge, dipping their feet in the water. Lisa tried to hide her smile when she sensed how close Jake's hand was to hers.

"Your turn." She smiled cheerily at him, and he smiled back.

"Okay…" He sat there and thought for a bit, staring across the murky water. When he decided, he turned to her. "Who's your favorite sibling?"

Lisa bit her lip. "Well, I hate picking favorites, but I'd go with Becky. She's just always been there for me, especially lately."

For some odd reason, she felt Jake tense up next to her. He gave her a stiff nod. "Yeah…"

Lisa sensed that he wasn't comfortable right now, and even though she didn't know why, she wanted to quickly change the subject. "What about you?" She asked quickly.

He gave out a sigh, and Lisa wondered if she had said something wrong. Wondered if she upset him in some way. But before she could say anything, he spoke up. "It's kind of complicated right now… It, umm, it used to be Sarah. But we're kind of in a fight right now."

Lisa turned to give him a look of concern, but his eyes didn't meet hers. He was staring down at the water, creating ripples with his toe. His lips were turned into a deep frown and his eyes masked the pain only Lisa could see. "The only problem is that I don't even know why. She just was suddenly mad at me. And now she's ignoring me."

"Oh, Jake." She felt truly bad for him right now. All her life Lisa had known Sarah, and it didn't seem like she was the type of girl to do that. She and Jake were as close as siblings could be, and quite frankly she didn't know what to say that would make him cheer up. "I'm so sorry."

Jake waved her apology away with a shrug, flashing her half a smile. "Thanks."

"I wish I could do something." Lisa told him. She really did.

But Jake only shrugged again, the smile gone. She could tell it was really hurting him. But then again, of course it was! If Becky had been ignoring Lisa for some unknown reason, she'd feel hopeless. Devastated, even. _What would I have done in a situation like this? _Lisa asked herself, biting her lip.

"Hey, don't get too wrapped up into it." Jake told her, breaking her thoughts. He was now looking at her, the same concern she had filling his eyes. "This is my fight to settle. Don't worry about it, I got it." He gave her a smile and she hastily returned one back.

And then they sat on the dock together, both wrapped up in their own thoughts. Jake thinking about Sarah, and Lisa thinking about that very question that made her come over to this house in the first place. It was on the tip of her tongue, and once again a wave of butterflies erupted in her stomach. Her hands grew clammy and she was glad for once that her and Jake weren't holding hands at that moment.

Suddenly, Jake stood up. It startled Lisa a bit, and she looked up at him, covering her eyes with her hand from the harsh sunlight above.

"I'm going to go find her, and see if I can talk to her." Jake told her in a hurried rush, already backing away from the dock. Lisa at first didn't understand who he was talking about, but as soon as it registered Jake was already jogging up to the house. And then she realized that had been one of her big chances that she just ruined.

"Jake, wait!" She yelled after him and stood up, but it was too late. She watched the screen door swing shut with one last squeak of the rusted hinges, a sense of finality hanging around it. And once again, Lisa Murtaugh knew she ruined a major chance. If she didn't ask soon, all her doubts would overcome her and she would probably never ask him out. She needed to do it soon.

**Guys, I don't know how frequent I can update because school starts tomorrow and I'm heading into high school this year. Officially a freshman!(: But anyways, yeah, I'm not sure how quick I can update this story so expect large gaps between each chapter in the future. So sorry, I feel awful doing this but it's the only way I can focus and do well in school. I won't forget this story entirely though, I promise!3**


	27. Relationship Issues

**SO so sorry for being absent for a whole week! It was the first few days of school and it was HECTIC. But I'm back and I'm not abandoning this story no matter what, I promise(: even if I have to stay up till 2 writing a new chapter! But, I think I'm going to post a new chapter every Friday, so that way you guys don't have to constantly be checking this story for new updates, and also I won't feel so stressed about when I have to upload this…. Okay this thing makes no sense and I've just gotten back from Track practice and we ran in 105 degree weather so my brain is fuzzy as heck! I can't focus, haha oh well(; I'll just sum this up:**

**I WILL NOW BE UPDATING EACH FRIDAY OF EVERY WEEK SO YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE TO BE CONSTANTLY CHECKING THIS STORY AND SO I HAVE A DEADLINE TO KEEP ME FOCUSED. Okay? Alright(:**

**And for being so kind to me and not giving up on my story, you guys deserve TWO chapters! And to Pene and amugirl97 and Han2380 and numbah435spiritsong THANK YOU soooo much, coming home and reading those reviews made me sooo incredibly happy you have no idea(; **

**Alright, so sorry for rambling! On to the story!**

"Mike!" Somebody hollered after him from upstairs. Mike paused at the door, skateboard perched in his hand, helmet in the other as he swiveled towards the noise. He was about to go out and cruise up and down the empty street of his neighborhood, but it seemed as if someone was always intervening on everything he did. Mike spotted Jake as he slid down the banister of the stairs, calling his name once more, before landing rather clumsily in front of his brother.

"Jake, whattdya you want?" He mumbled in a rush, clearly annoyed. All he wanted to do was get out there and skateboard, feel the wind in his hair and get lost in thought. Maybe take a left at the familiar fork in the road, and see where it'd take him.

"Look," Jake began, holding a hand out to block Mike's path. "I know you're busy and all, but I have a favor to ask you."

Mike sighed and nodded for him to continue. It was pointless to argue. Since Mike was the littler of the two of them, Jake used that as an advantage whenever it came to arguments or favors.

"Sarah's been ignoring me for a long time now. I don't know why, but I need you to find out for me." Jake explained, in a tone that made it seem as if Mike had no choice but to agree.

"What? Why me?" Mike complained in a whiny voice. "Do it yourself!"

"No, you have to do it for me, man! Every time Sarah sees me she runs away! Please, you're my best bro, dude." Jake pleaded, putting on the infamous puppy dog eyes he had learned from none other than Sarah herself.

Mike sighed in resentment before slowly nodding his head. Jake gave a whoop and patted Mike solidly on the back. "I owe you, bro! I promise I'll pay you back some way or another."

"Yeah, yeah." Mike rolled his eyes, amused at how dramatic Jake could be. "Now where is she?"

_This is a bad idea, I know it is._ Mike thought to himself as he approached Sarah. She was sitting on the Gondola steps, looking out into the forest, motionless. Mike could automatically tell something was wrong, and it made him want to do two things: hug her and never let her go… Or run away. He wasn't exactly the best when it came to comforting someone.

So he approached her warily, making sure he stepped loud enough so she could hear him coming. If she did hear him though, she showed no signs of it.

"Sarah?" He called her name, and she turned. It almost made him sigh in relief. Almost. The look on her face ruined it.

He could tell she was troubled. Her brown eyes were accented with large, deep bags and her face looked hollow and glum. Her body was slouched, and not at all held like it used to be with perfect posture.

"You ok?" Mike ventured slowly, approaching his sister and sitting on the step next to her.

Sarah nodded. "I'm fine," She replied tersely.

Mike nodded, deciding not to press the subject any further. It probably had something to do with Elliot. At least, that was the only thing he could think of at the moment.

"Why are you ignoring Jake?" He decided to get on with the main topic, not one to dance around it and make small talk.

"I'm not ignoring him," She snapped, her eyes narrowed. It scared Mike to see her like this. She was usually so happy and good-natured with him. When the two together they couldn't help but laugh and make jokes with each other. It was what they did; it was their kind of relationship.

"That's what he said, not me." Mike explained hurriedly, not wanting her anger displayed toward him. Sarah watch as Mike got defensive, his hands thrown in the air as if to say "don't hurt me" and his eyes wide, and she sighed. He always did that when the three of them, Jake, Sarah, and Mike, got in trouble. Since he was the youngest, he used it as his advantage and blamed all their pranks on the two older ones.

"Well, Mike. You can tell Jake that he should stop sending you, his little brother, to spy on me. And that he should butt out as well." Sarah said without thinking, crossing her arms across her chest in defiance.

Mike got up quickly, backing away before she could round on him. She certainly wasn't in a good mood today. "Alright, sorry! I'll tell him. Sorry," He repeated again as she watched him turn and hop down the steps of the Gondola, in the direction of home. And once he was gone, she allowed herself to openly break down into tears.

"What do you mean she said to 'butt out'? This is totally my business!" Jake fumed, pacing his bedroom floor as Mike watched from the bed. He only shrugged. After repeating what Sarah had told him, Jake jumped up in anger, venting for what seemed like hours.

"It's my business, right?" Jake asked his little brother, who only shrugged again.

"I don't know, man. I don't want to get into this." Mike told him helplessly. He absolutely hated it when his Sarah and Jake, his two best friends, fought. He hated taking sides and he hated being in between it. He felt like a kid being juggled between two divorced parents.

"It is! She's the one that's ignoring me, so I don't have to 'butt out'! I'm the victim here, she should know that! But you know what? Fine. Two can play at that game. If she wants to ignore me, then I can ignore her."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Mike warned his older brother, but to no avail.

"I don't care! Right now, it's the only thing I have," And with that, Jake stormed out of his own bedroom, leaving Mike alone on the bed, feeling as helpless as ever. Where was a divorce lawyer when you needed one?

**I really wanted to name this chapter "Divorce Lawyers and Other Things" but then I thought you guys might get freaked about the whole divorce thing and think that one of the married couples or Charlie and Anne were breaking up. So instead I named it Relationship Issues and I kind of hate it… oh well…. Just a little fun fact(;**

**Love you all :***


	28. Boat Wars

**Oh. My. God. This is the chapter I've finally been waiting to upload…. The main plot of this whole entire story, twenty freaking chapters in. Haha, didn't realize how far we were into this until I wrote this chapter… oops! Oh well, hope you guys don't hate me for it! And ummm, didn't exactly realize this chapter is 3,175 words long!  
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"Calvin, we're going too slow! The Aquaholic is catching up!" Robin squealed with a laugh as the two boats jetted down the lake.

Mike watched Robin as she craned her head to look over the misty waves the motorboat was creating in its wake. Mike looked too and sure enough, Robin was right and the Aquaholic was fast on the Odyssey's heel.

All 17 of the Murtaugh children were divided into two of the Murtaugh's boats, the Odyssey and the Aquaholic. They were racing each other to see who could reach the finish line, the murky reeds at the far end of the lake, faster. Right now, the Odyssey was winning by about 300 meters. But the Aquaholic was catching up, fast. Not that Mike particularly cared. He didn't mind if they won or lost, he only came along for the free ride.

Looking around him, he realized how close knit their family's had really become. Sarah and Elliot were cuddled up together in the front, Sarah's head tossed back on Elliot's shoulder as she laughed about something he just said. Robin, Jessica, and Kim were at the back, peering off the boat's edge at their competition, on the edge of their seats. Nigel was with Calvin at the wheel, watching as the older boy stepped on the gas and pressed a few buttons. And Kenneth was laid fully out on the bench in the middle, asleep.

Mike turned from everybody else and scanned the horizon, watching the choppy waves created by the boat's wake. Then something flashed out of the corner of his right eye. He turned his head quickly, only to spot another boat headed towards their way. It was a sleek, shiny black color and had a tint to it.

At first, Mike assumed it would turn to give the other boat, the Odyssey, some room. It was common courtesy of the lake to always distance boats from each other. It also limited crashes from happening. But this boat was headed full speak their way, and they were catching up fast.

Calvin noticed them too and began to veer left, away from them as he muttered profanities under his breath about how they had no manners.

But the boat mirrored their moves, and as soon as Mike began to grow suspicion a voice called out from the other boat.

"Hey! Hold up!"

Confused, Calvin killed the motor and the boat began to slow.

"What are you doing?" Kim hollered. "We were getting good mileage from them! We could've won."

Calvin nodded in the direction of the black boat, now motoring their way towards them.

"Do you know them?" Mike asked curiously. In all his vacations at the lake, he never once spotted this black boat in the lake.

Apparently, Calvin hadn't either. "No. But maybe it's some of my old friends, and they got a new boat or something and took it down here. They'd recognize the Odyssey if they saw it out here."

The nine of them watched at the black boat killed its motor and used the remaining leverage to cruise its way over.

Back in the other boat, Kyle watched the scene unfold in front of the Aquaholic, all its members peering over the railing. Charlie stood at the wheel, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Lorraine was at his side as well, hands on her hips as she watched the Odyssey.

"Why did they stop?" Kyle yelled over the sound of the motor.

Charlie shrugged, slowing the boat down a bit. "Maybe they got in trouble for driving too fast, and that's the police?"

"No, that wouldn't happen. We've gone well over 60 miles per hour on this lake, and they were only doing about 50." Becky spoke up from where she was sitting, next to Jake on his left. On his right side was Lisa, who nodded in agreement. Henry was on the other side of the boat, looking nervous and guilty and not making eye contact with anyone, for some reason. He remained silent the whole trip. But Kyle was quite frankly too lazy to find out. He himself was stretched out on the back bench, sipping a can of Coca Cola and letting the wind ruffle his hair. And Mark was on his other side, a book in hand, oblivious to the world.

"Well, instead of just sitting here, let's go find out." Charlie ventured as he floored the boat once again and steered it in direction of the two stationary boats.

Aboard the Odyssey, all nine children watched the black boat sidle up next to them. It was still unclear to Mike who they were, but he had a hunch they were about to find out.

The driver of the boat, a lanky guy in his late teens with his jet black hair and a cocky grin jumped from the wheel and made their way towards them. He didn't have a life jacket on like the Bakers and Murtaughs, only black basketball shorts. And as he got closer, Mike noticed three tattoos covering his whole left bicep. And he walked in a sort of stuck-up, arrogant manor, which made Mike automatically dislike him.

"Hello," Calvin said good-naturedly, although Mike could tell he was just as tense as he was.

"Hey. Sorry for pulling you guys over. That must've looked strange." The teenager said with a fake laugh. "I recognized your boat. We just wanted to tell you guys that we're your new neighbors. The ones up the hill."

At the mention of "we", Mike looked around and noticed five other children inside the boat. They all stood up, four boys and one girl, and approached the railing of their boat to greet the Odyssey.

"Nice to meet you," Calvin replied politely. "We're the Murtaughs and the Bakers."

"We're the Hansons. I'm Marshall Hanson, 18 years old, the oldest child. And the handsomest, not to brag or anything" The guy with jet black hair introduced himself coyly with a smile. It took all the self control in Mike's body not to roll his eyes and laugh. This kid sure was vain.

Marshall then pointed to the second oldest child. "That's George. He's 16." To put it lightly, Henry Baker, the linebacker on the town's public football team, looked like a shrimp next to George. He had big, bulging muscles and a broad chest, his hair chopped in a buzz cut, and glared the family down like they were enemies of his. Mike made a mental note never to mess with him.

"That's Kevin. He's only 14." Kevin was certainly not dressed appropriately for the lake. He had on a Ralph Lauren sweater and chinos, his floppy hair dangling over his eyes. His lips were pulled into a cocky smile. His whole look screamed "preppy school boy", like the kids from the private school down the street from Mike's school back home.

"That's Buck and he's 11." Marshall pointed to a short kid with a snapback hat on, his face contorted into a permanent scowl. There wasn't much else to say about him other than he looked like a typical school bully.

"And that's Bruce. He's 8." The little boy next to Kevin looked almost identical to Buck, even though they were three years apart. The only difference was that Bruce's hair was spikier.

"That's our sister, Amelia. She's 6." Amelia looked to be like a stuck up, spoiled little girl. She had frizzy golden hair and a mean looking glare. She made a particular note to sneer at Robin, who was eyeing her up and down.

"It's nice to finally meet you all." Calvin forced a smile. It was obvious to Mike that Calvin could also sense something off about the new family. They were too arrogant, too conceited for his liking. "I'm Calvin, the second oldest of the Murtaughs, and this is-"

Suddenly they were interrupted by the loud roar of the Aquaholic's motor put-putting its way over to the two boats. Mike could clearly see Charlie at the wheel, looking between the two boats in confusion. Lorraine was at his side, glaring down the black boat like they had personally offended her.

The Aquaholic killed its motor and cruised its way toward the awaiting boats.

"What gives?" Lorraine shouted with annoyance written all over her voice, once the Aquaholic was parked and anchored between the Odyssey and the other boat. "We were in the middle of a race and we were about to-" her voice faltered as her eyes laid on the driver of the black boat, Marshall.

"Hi," Marshall winked cheekily at her, and she ducked her head, blushing profusely. Mike fumed, disliking him even more. That was _his _sister he was flirting with! "Sorry to interrupt, we were just introducing ourselves. We're the new neighbors. And you are?"

Charlie stepped forward, subtly crossing in front of Lorraine and blocking Marshall's view. "I'm Charlie, from the Baker family. We and the Murtaughs are-"

"Yeah, yeah. I heard from Calvin." Marshall nodded curtly. Obviously, he was very annoyed that Charlie had blocked Lorraine from him. "So you guys are all pretty close, huh?"

The Bakers and Murtaughs nodded, keeping silent so that the older children could speak. Luckily, Calvin sensed no one else felt obliged to talk and spoke up for the rest of the family. "Yeah. We've practically grown up together. We hang out all the time."

For the first time one of the other kids, Kevin, spoke up. His voice was haughty and proud. "Well maybe we can all hang out sometime. Our house isn't clean yet, but we can go swimming or something." And as he said that, Mike swore he eyed Sarah's body up and down with a smirk. Mike clenched his fist and his jaws and his muscles, praying to God he wouldn't do anything stupid. Flirting was one thing, but actually checking out one of the family members while everyone else sat watching was beyond unacceptable. And apparently, Elliot had seen it too and he tightened his arm around Sarah with a scowl in the boy's direction. Sarah, of course, was oblivious to it all.

"It'd be a pleasure to get to know you all," Kevin took one last jab, aiming the sentence directly at Sarah as he smiled. "Our family might have a cookout soon, and I insist you all join us."

"Probably not, but thanks." It came out of Mike's mouth before he even processed it. His eyes widened at the realization of what he just said and he fought back the urge to clamp his mouth shut with his hand. Why did he just say that? That was beyond rude! He had only meant to think it, not say it out loud! It was just that the nerves of this family coming over to them in a gloating fashion made him absolutely furious. And flirting with _two _of his sisters! They were bigheaded and beyond anything but egotistical!

"Excuse me?" Marshall narrowed his eyes. "Did you just reject our offer?"

The rest of the children stood, gaping at Mike as he shuffled his feet, embarrassed and unsure what to say. "I-I didn't mean that. It just kind of came out."

"But you _did _mean it," Kevin sneered. Mike opened his mouth, but closed it, then opened it again. Kevin was right, he had meant it. What else could he say?

"Well, you were checking out two of my sisters," Mike suddenly mumbled. Wait… did he just say that _out loud? _He probably just made things even worse! How stupid could he get? But he just had to say it. This family was an awful bunch.

"Mike!" Jessica hissed from his right.

"That's rude," Kim chipped in quietly, from his left.

"Your little sister was right. That was rude." Marshall glowered at the boy, crossing his arms across his chest. "We ask you to hang out and you blatantly reject us. You could've at least been a little more discreet."

"Mike didn't mean it. He just didn't think before he spoke." Charlie reassured Marshall, trying to smooth things over before they got out of control. "Right, Mike?"

"Sure…" Mike grumbled, feeling like a child being scolded by his own mother.

"The little snot's only saying that!" Bruce spoke up for the first time. But of course, the first thing coming out of his mouth was rude.

"Hey! He's not a snot, so don't be calling him that." Robin suddenly yelled, getting defensive for her friend.

"Yeah, don't be calling my little brother a snot." Lorraine agreed, backing up Robin. Mike was surprised that they were actually defending him, and stood in the back as Bruce glared him down.

"Don't yell at my brother. What if what he said was true?" Buck challenged them, stepping next to his brother Bruce.

"It's not true. So drop it, he said he was sorry." Calvin commanded them with a harsh voice, staring the two rival brothers' down. "I think it's time you all leave."

"Us leave?" Marshall now spoke up. "Excuse me, but last time I checked you were closer our property and not yours."

"Hey, the lake is everyone's. It's not your property." Lisa informed him with a firm voice. It was surprising how she could turn from sickeningly sweet one second to fierce the other. Mike couldn't help but watch her in shock as she stood her ground, hands on her hips, waiting for the Hansons to play their next move.

By now, everyone was looking a bit irritated, looking back and forth warily at each other. The three boats were motionless in the lake water, none of them bothering to turn the motors back on and back out of the fight. Mike had to admit it had grown a bit awkward, sensing as nobody was saying anything. He glanced over at Calvin, who looked nowhere close to starting up the boat again as he watched the other family warily, ready to jump in if any one of them took one false step. Back on the Aquaholic, Charlie was the exact same. Mike coughed, snapping everyone from their intense stare-downs.

"I think it's time you all leave." George commanded in a gruff voice, his arms crossed over his chest. His little sister, Amelia, stood next to him with her hands on her hips and a huge smirk. It was obvious as to what she was thinking. If the saying "Actions speak louder than words" was in fact true, then "smug" was written all across Amelia's body.

"Why don't you leave first?" Kyle shot back. Although it was a lame comeback, it struck gold and George's eyes flashed.

"What did that little punk say?" George growled, his fists now clenched.

"You heard him. Leave." Charlie had finally snapped as he made his way over to the railing of the Aquaholic, closest to the Hanson's boat. "And don't come back. I've tried to keep my cool with each and every jeer you've thrown at us and now I've had it. You say one more word about my brothers or any of my family or friends and I'll knock you out cold. You hear me?"

Mike slapped his hand to his forehead. Charlie had now officially gone too far off the grid. There was no use trying to apologize to this family; they were probably now listed in the Hanson's Official Enemy Handbook.

The Hanson's stood there, eyes burning with annoyance as Marshall hopped back up onto the deck and settled back into the Captain's seat. "Fine, we will leave. But just this time. If we see you around here again, watch out. Because we're not letting you go so easy if it happens again."

And then the Hanson's motor was revving up and creating a storm of black smoke that trailed behind it like a cloud. It was hot and sticky and filled Mike's lungs to the top, causing him to go off on a coughing fit.

Before they left, however, Kevin took one final onceover at the two boats. "Looks to be as if snot-nosed kids run in the family." Kevin snorted. "Don't bother coming to our cookout anymore. You all are officially uninvited."

Marshall floored the gas and the black boat was sent shooting off across the water, creating rough waves in their wake. As they sailed away, Mike saw George flip them the bird.

"What a lovely family," Becky's voice oozed with sarcasm. The others grumbled in agreement as the waves from the Hanson's boat now rocked the Odyssey and the Aquaholic roughly. Mike held onto the railing. The jagged motions of the boat mixed in with the stale taste of motor oil was beginning to make him feel ill.

"Can we all agree that we won't ever, even in a million years, become friends with that family?" Charlie's eyes were still trailed on the black boat as it was now disappearing behind a large field of water reeds. "I don't want their kind to be mingling with the likes of us."

"Don't worry, bro." Henry patted his brother's back gently. "No one's challenging you on that rule. We promise."

**Okay, first off, puhh-leease review this chapter! I want to know whether you guys like how the new family turned out to be. Too temperamental? Or not enough? Just plain annoying? I appreciate all feedback(:**

**And also, sorry this chapter was choppy in some places. I couldn't, for the life of me, get the words to all flow on paper and to create the scene that was going on in my head. This was a tough chapter to write, although I **_**think **_**I might like how it turned out? I dunno, we'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. Right now it's 11 o'clock and raining buckets outside and lightning is lighting up my whole room, so I thought what better mood to write in then this? So the result of one hell of a thunderstorm is this: one complete chapter. Ta daa(: **

**Also, here is a list of the children so you guys don't get confused on who's who. Just copy it, open a word document, and paste that into it so if they ever come up in the future you can just open that document and keep it handy:**

**Marshall- 18, big attitude, charmer, schmooze, and three tattoos on his left bicep**

**George- 16, big and buff, has a buzz cut**

**Kevin- 14, arrogant, pretty-boy with floppy hair**

**Buck- 11, bully, mean, brutal, with a missing front tooth**

**Bruce- 8, almost no manners, almost identical to Buck despite the age**

**Amelia- 6, princess of the family, rough and mean, another one of the guys, frizzy golden hair and a mean glare**

** Okay that's pretty much it!**


	29. Cliffside

Sitting on the steps of the Baker lake house, Jake only felt boredom as he sighed and rested his chin on his knees, skimming the lake surface lazily with his eyes. There was nothing to do, no one really felt like swimming today and it was too hot to go ride his board. So he was driven to this, sitting on the chipped steps of the cabin while everyone else was dispersed between both houses, doing their own thing. They did this at times; when no one felt like doing anything, they'd take a lazy day to do whatever they pleased. Jake hated these days when everyone agreed to do nothing; he didn't have anything else to do but sit and wait for tomorrow.

"Jake!" He heard his name called from behind the screen door. Jake turned to meet Lisa's eyes as she perched halfway out of the door and halfway in, looking somewhat startled. "I didn't know you were out here."

Jake smiled, relieved to finally have some company and something to do. "Yeah, just sitting here. Kind of bored." He replied nonchalantly.

Lisa stepped out onto the porch and approached him, her feet causing the boards to creak and groan from aging. Jake could kind of sense she was nervous, for some reason beyond him, but he didn't press it. Instead, he allowed her to sit beside him in silence.

She sat down next to him on the step, folding her hands in her lap and overlooking the lake, watching jet skis and boats pass them by. Jake took this moment and studied her. When he took the time to really look at her, he noticed that her hair was darker than her sister's, and that her eyes had a tinge of yellow around the original blue. And, looking closer, Jake noticed a spattering of freckles across her nose. And she had a habit of tapping her foot which, surprisingly, he found cute.

"Jake?" Lisa suddenly asked. Her voice was higher than usual.

"Yeah?" He asked, now concerned. She wasn't usually this uneasy around him. He made a point to turn his body to face her.

She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her thumbs. "Uhmm, I've been meaning to ask this for awhile… We haven't really spent a whole lot of time together alone, so I was thinking maybe you wanted to, you know, go on a date or something?"

This shocked Jake and he leaned away from her, surprised. "Ohh! A real date? Uhh, yeah, sure!" He hadn't noticed that Lisa liked him like that. But maybe he needed it. To take his mind off Becky for once.

"Wait, really? Yes?" Lisa's eyes mirrored the surprise in Jake's. But she quickly composed herself and cleared her throat. "I mean, great! I actually have a place planned out that I want to show you. We could go now if you aren't doing anything else at the moment?"

Jake chuckled, "I've been sitting her for well over twenty minutes now. I think I'll take up your offer." He stood and offered an outstretched hand to Lisa, who blushed and took it. He helped her up but once standing, Jake didn't release her hand. Lisa's lips curved into a smile as she looked down at their intertwined hands.

"So where to?" Jake asked her cheerily. Lisa smiled but said nothing in reply. Instead, she tugged on his hand, leading him in the direction of the trees surrounding the Baker's lake house. Jake wondered if he should tell his parents he was leaving, but quickly ruled it out. They probably wouldn't even notice he was gone. They were too busy focusing on the wedding.

Becky led the way as she set a steady pace on an unfamiliar path to Jake. Confused, he followed her anyways, the two falling into comfortable silence.

It finally dawned on him that he was going on a date with Lisa, and that she probably liked him. Maybe he liked her, too. He wasn't sure at the moment, but he did notice how pretty she was. She was very alike to her sister, so if Jake had liked Becky before, there was a definite chance he could like Lisa as well.

Only a ten minute walk later, Lisa stopped and turned to Jake, her eyes alight with excitement. "Are you ready?" She asked him eagerly.

Jake smirked. Lisa sounded like a kid in a candy store at that very moment. "I think that question should be directed to you. Are you sure _you're _ready?" He asked her, and she giggled.

"Of course I am, I'm just excited to show you! No one's seen this place yet but you, and I want to make sure it all turns out perfectly!"

Jake suddenly realized how important this was to her, and he felt rather pressured. She really wanted him to like it, whatever it was. Quickly, Jake made a pact with himself that no matter what it was he'd pretend to love it, even if he didn't.

"In that case, I am ready." He told her confidently. Satisfied, Lisa turned and led him off the trail and into the underbrush.

"Whoa! Where are we going? There could be poison ivy, or snakes in here." He warned her nervously.

Lisa only shrugged. "Quit being a baby! I've been here millions of times. I know where I'm going, and it's right… here!"

Suddenly the trees opened up and the harsh light of the sun temporarily blinded him. He felt a cool breeze tickle his neck, and the feeling of Lisa's small hand curled tightly in his. Then his eyes adjusted and he took in the most gorgeous sight he'd ever seen.

They were standing on a cliff, overlooking the wide expanse of open countryside. Wheat and Cattails blew roughly in the breeze, and only a few trees peaked out of the waving grass. Then the land careened up into swooping mountains, their tips tinged with snow still from the previous winter. And below the mountains, curving rivers etched a trail through the land, overlapping each other in a maze of water.

"Lisa," Jake breathed out. He wasn't pretending, like he'd promised; he really did love it.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Lisa mused, watching him as his eyes gawked at the sight, taking everything in. Jake was speechless, and could only nod in agreement. It was too pretty for words.

They stood in silence, watching as the sun was now beginning to drop below the mountains. Eagles soared overhead, their screeches ringing over the fields. A cool breeze reached its way up to them and blew their hair back. Jake closed his eyes and absorbed the feeling, making sure he captured it and trapped it in his memories forever.

And a couple minutes later, Jake found himself sat a little ways from the edge of the cliff, Lisa's head in his lap as he played with her hair, running his fingers through it and marveling at how soft it felt. Lisa's eyes were closed and a smile was etched permanently on her face. Jake wondered how he'd never before realized how pretty she really was.

"Thank you for taking me here," Jake leaned down and whispered it softly into her ear. Lisa's smile grew even bigger, if possible.

Suddenly, Lisa sat up, her hair falling from Jake's fingers. She turned to look at him before leaning forward, and Jake felt her lips on his cheek. It was short and Jake had barely any time to realize what was happening before it did, but his stomach erupted into butterflies and his lips curved into a small smile. When she pulled away, Jake could still feel the ghost of her lips on his cheek.

"Thank you for coming here with me," Lisa whispered back, her cheeks a rosy pink as she blushed. She sat back down with her head in his lap, and Jake began to play with her hair as if nothing happened. But in reality, something did happen. Jake could feel that small spark erupt in his heart, and he wondered if maybe, just maybe, it was Lisa who he liked instead.

Later that night during dinner, Jake couldn't stop smiling through his mashed potatoes as he thought back to that day's events. After staying on the cliff top for another hour or so, Lisa and Jake decided to head back to the house. On the walk back, they continued their game of Questions. The questions were nothing serious, only simple ones like "What's your favorite food?" or "When's your birthday?" but quickly escalated into a game of Would You Rather. Then Truth or Dare. And then they found themselves outside of the Baker cabin, not wanting to say goodbye just yet. So, after learning that Lisa had always wanted to learn how to skateboard, he grabbed his board from upstairs and attempted to teach her how to ride one. They spent another solid hour out on the driveway, Jake showing off multiple tricks and Lisa falling off a total of seven times. And when she did fall, Jake came up with the idea of kissing her on the cheek until she had a laughing fit and told him she was better. And after Lisa had fallen one too many times, Jake decided enough was enough and he put the board away. Then they decided to go swimming, and so they stayed in the shallow water and continued their game of Questions. By then it was late and almost time for dinner, so they reluctantly said goodbye and now here Jake was, grinning down at his green beans and mashed potatoes.

"Uhh… you okay there, Jake?" Mike was sitting in the chair across from him, and noticed his odd behavior.

Jake snapped from his thoughts and felt heat rise up to his face. "Oh! Uhh, yeah! I'm fine."

"You sure?" Sarah asked from his left. "You were literally smiling at your food."

"I'm fine!" Jake laughed. Nothing could ruin his mood. He noticed the two of them eyeing him cautiously and felt the need to reassure him. "Really, I'm good. Today was just fun."

"Oooo! Went on a date with someone?" Mike chastised him in a sing-song voice, a smirk lighting up his face.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Something like that…"

Before the two of them could ask him anything else, Kate burst into the dining room with another batch of fried chicken an everyone started claiming chicken wings before they even hit the table. Kate put the dish in the middle of the table and everyone lunged for seconds.

"Has anyone seen Lorraine?" Kate shouted over the noise of lips smacking, voices yelling, and the barking of Gunner.

The ones that had heard her only shrugged. None of them had seen her for awhile now. But honestly, it was normal for one of the kids to disappear. They were all often juggled between the Murtaugh's house and the Baker's. Both were like each other's second home.

"She's probably out with Calvin or something." Kim snorted as she reached across the table for a roll.

"No, no." Jessica corrected her twin. "I haven't seen them together for awhile now. I think they had a falling out, or something before."

"Lorraine?" Kim scoffed. "Please. There's never been a guy that's ever rejected her. And if there was, I'd like to see that. Besides, I saw them talking when we went tubing yesterday."

"Wait, they're together?" Kate butted into the conversation suddenly, causing the two twins to look at her. "I never knew Lorraine liked him."

"We're assuming she does, mom. We don't know for sure." Jessica piped up, lazily pointing her fork in the direction of her mother. "But they've been spending an awful lot of time together."

"Only time can tell." Kim agreed.

Kate raised her eyebrows. "Well, if they are together, Calvin seems like a good guy. I'd rather see him with her than I would with any of those guys at your school. I give him the stamp of approval."

"'The stamp of approval'? Really mom?" Mike teased his mother as he joined into the conversation. Kate only looked confused now as her eyebrows knitted together.

"What? That sounds hip, right?" She asked, incredulous. Mike, Kim, Jessica, and Jake, who had been listening the whole time, all laughed.

"Sure mom," Jake grinned through a bite of fried chicken. It was times like this when he really loved his family. "Whatever you say."

**As I promised, today is Friday so here is another chapter! The updates every Friday might be a little late because in my time zone it's 6:05 pm, and I don't get home from track practice until around this time, so maybe just check for updates every Saturday if it's late in your time zone! And just a little input on my actual life, today in track it was pouring down rain and cold and I'm starting to get sick and we did a bunch of conditioning (in track language, this translates to death) and so I'm currently on the verge of death. Anyways, on we go!**

**I made this chapter simply because I think you guys need a little bit of fluff to dwindle down the drama. I had fun writing Jake and Lisa's date(: **


	30. Jealousy

**Posting another chapter on Thursday instead of Friday because yolo(; Actually the real reason is that I have my homecoming football game tomorrow and then tomorrow I have the homecoming dance and everything so I have like NO time whatsoever either Friday or Saturday. And I still have to go shoe shopping after the game, and figure out what I'm going to do, and get my rides to the dance settled… Gahhh, so much stress in my life lately! :( Haha but I certainly don't want to forget you guys! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, by the time you guys are reading this I'll be grinding up on some guys in my school's gym! No just kidding… well, sorta(;**

The sun began to warm up Sarah's cheeks, and she reveled in it. She could lay in the sun all day, feeling the rays beam down on her face, making it somewhat of a competition as to how long she could bake in the sun before having to run into the murky water of the lake and cool down. It was what most of her summers consisted of.

The only thing different about this summer was that someone was sitting next to her, holding her hand, his shoulder pressed up against hers. Elliot. Today was the first summer they were together after four years, and it was an unexpected yet pleasant change. One that she wouldn't change for the world. He had been the only guy to make her feel like a love-sick, head-over-heels in love, teenage girl.

"What are you thinking about?" Elliot's golden voice broke her from her thoughts. She blushed and squeezed his hand lightly. He squeezed back.

"Nothing. Just thinking about us. How happy I am to be here." Sarah murmured, her face turned upward to the sky. She could feel Elliot's eyes on her.

"I'm happy you're here too," He chuckled and nudged her shoulder with his. That made Sarah giggle, and she pushed him away from her.

"Whatever. I'm hungry," She suddenly whined, feeling her stomach grumble in agreement. It was already 2 o'clock, and all she had for breakfast was a couple pieces of toast.

"I'll go get some food from inside," Elliot told her as he stood up and brushed the dirt from his hands. "Be back in a second."

"I'll miss you," Sarah joked with a smirk.

"I'll miss you even more." He bent down and kissed the top of her head before jogging in the direction of the Murtaugh's house.

Sarah watched him disappear behind the screen door before she lay back down on her back and stared up at the clouds, squinting as she looked for shapes hidden inside them. She could hear the waves lap onto the shore and the leaves back in the forest rustling from the wind, and she closed her eyes and relished in the fact that she still had a whole month and a half to spend with Elliot.

Suddenly, the sound of a motor echoed in her ears, and her eyes snapped open. She lifted up her head, expecting to see one of her siblings sailing over to hang out with one of the others kids, but instead was met with the eerie sight of a familiar jet black boat.

The Hansons.

Sarah bolted right up into a sitting position, narrowing her eyes at the boat as it seemed to jet its way across the water towards her. What were they doing back here? Hadn't they already established that the other half was clearly "their" side?

Elliot still was inside, probably rifling through the pantry in search for food that they both liked. So Sarah was out here on the grassy shore alone, watching the boat inch closer every second. She felt her skin begin to crawl as she debated whether or not to turn and run back up to the lake house. But that would prove they were scary, and would only satisfy him. She wasn't a weakling, and she sure as hell wasn't going to turn and retreat from this fight. That was the Baker family way.

So instead, she stood up, held her head high, and braced herself for whatever reason they had decided to cross the boundaries.

As soon as the boat was close enough, Sarah could make out three different figures. Kevin, the little 14 year old snot rag. Marshall, the arrogant oldest one. And little Amelia, who had an attitude as big as all four brothers combined. Lovely.

Marshall killed the motor and cruised the boat over towards the Murtaugh's dock. Sarah watched from the shore as they hopped onto it and slithered their way to her.

"Hey, you!" Marshall was first to shout out as he pointed over to the only person there, Sarah. Like it could've been anyone else he was talking to. Sarah rolled her eyes and pretended to look uninterested as she stood up and met them at the end of the dock.

"You need anything? I thought we kinda agreed never to mess with each other again." Sarah said with a scowl as she crossed her arms and eyed them up and down.

"We came here for you," Kevin smirked with a wink as he stepped closer to her.

Sarah's eyes widened and she dropped her scowl. "W-what? What are you talking about?" She growled as she quickly composed herself.

"You heard me right." Kevin challenged her, eyeing her body up and down. This time, Sarah noticed and she took a huge step back, balling her fists. "You're pretty hot. And you like to play hard to get. I like that." He gave her a wink, and Sarah blatantly rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm not playing hard to get, you idiot. I have-" Sarah began, but Kevin interrupted.

"Now, now. No need to get too feisty. You can save that for later." He murmured suggestively with yet another wink. This boy had an ego, Sarah noticed. "So how about you come to our house right now? I can give you a little tour, if you know what I mean. Private access to the Hanson property."

Sarah scowled. "If you would've let me finish, I have a boyfriend. And I'd never do that with you, you little-"

"You have a boyfriend?" Kevin asked incredulously, interrupting her for the second time. "Who?"

Sarah sighed, and with narrowed eyes she explained. "Elliot. He's inside right now getting food; we're actually in the middle of a date if you hadn't noticed. And I'd appreciate if you left our property now and never came back."

Kevin whistled, impressed with how cold Sarah had been. "Someone's a bit harsh. But fine, we'll leave. But just so you know, I'm not done with you just yet. You'll come around and realize that I'm better than that 'guy' will ever be. Just you wait." He flashed her a cocky grin before turned on his heel and marching back to his boat, the others following in his wake.

Marshall hopped up to the wheel and started the engine. The other two sat down in the back, Kevin still eyeing her with a smirk. Amelia was only glaring at her. Once the motor got going, Marshall looked back one last time to throw Sarah a chuckle, rolling his eyes at her before gunning the engine and peeling out of the dock, splashing a huge wave of water over the dock that narrowly missed Sarah.. It made her anger peak, and she was glad had left now because if they hadn't, she wasn't sure what she would've done.

The sound of the screen door creaking brought Sarah back to her senses, and she turned to see Elliot heading her way with a bag of chips and a bowl of seedless grapes under his arm. Sarah walked away from the dock and over to where they had set up their little campsite for the day.

"Who was that?" Elliot asked curiously as he too approached the pool towels laid out onto the grass, setting down the bowl of grapes and the chips.

Sarah said nothing but walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his back, burying her head in the crook of his shoulder. Elliot was surprised at first but swiftly wrapped his arms around her waist in a move that had now become so familiar to him.

"Sarah?" Elliot murmured into her hair, his lips pressed on the top of her head. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Sarah sighed, still not breaking away from his embrace. She wanted to stay there if not for a little bit longer. "I just wanted to hug you and let you know I'm yours, no matter what. Kevin just came by to try and steal me from you."

She was disappointed to feel Elliot move away a bit so he could see her face. "Kevin?" He asked, alarmed. "As in that little douche bag from the Hanson family? The one that couldn't keep his eyes off you?"

"He couldn't keep his eyes off me?" Sarah didn't answer his question, instead asking one of her own. "When?"

"Never mind that! What did he say? How long ago did he leave? Did he hurt you? Who else was with him? Why wasn't I here during this?" Elliot was throwing questions around this way and that, and Sarah quickly covered his mouth with her hand, a small giggle escaping her mouth.

"It's fine, Elliot! Don't worry so much, it's not a big deal. When you left for food he rode his boat over with Marshall and Amelia. He just flirted with me, asked me to come over to his house, stuff like that. I said no, of course, and told him I already had the best boyfriend in the world." Sarah smiled up at him and moved in to kiss him, but Elliot turned his face, still distracted by the thought of Kevin.

"I freaking hate that kid. Thinking he can come over and mess with my girlfriend. He knew I was dating you, he saw me with you in the boat. I mean come on, I had my arm around you for crying out loud! And he thinks you could fall for him. Please, I'd like to see him try. He's an idiot, the whole family is. And why did they cross the precious 'boundaries' they set up in the first place? If I see him again, I'm going to make sure he knows who he's messing with." While Elliot vented, his eyes alight with annoyance to Kevin, Sarah only watched in amusement at how overprotective he could really be. It seemed he was always this way; it was just one of the characteristics he had.

"Elliot, it's okay!" She tried to reassure him once again. "You'll always be the best boyfriend in the world for me, and not anyone could replace you. I promise."

Elliot sighed, finally stopping his ongoing rant as he looked at her. "I know. I just can't help it. I can be a bit overprotective sometimes,"

"Trust me, I've noticed." She mused before lifting up and kissing his cheek softly. "But that's just another thing I love about you."

Elliot grinned. "And I love you."

Sarah smirked. "Then prove it. Shut up about all your jealous nonsense and kiss me."

**And also, hopefully I hope you guys don't mind a few cuss words here and there in my story. I've only put about two or three in here so far, but I just want to make sure you guys are okay with it… If not, feel free to tell me and I'll be more than fine to stop! (:**


	31. Date Night

Today, the media room in the Murtaugh's mansion of a lake house was reserved specifically for Lisa and Jake. Lisa had requested it from her whole family for the whole day, and that nobody would bother them _or else. _

They had been on plenty of dates before, but all of them involved other people around them. They had gone of double dates with Sarah and Elliot. They had Becky or Mike tag along behind them when they went swimming. And any moment alone on the lake shore was interrupted by a various amount of reasons, like Nigel and Kyle asking them to play a game, or the family spontaneously decided to go tubing or wakeboarding. Those things were fun, but all Lisa really wanted now was some time with just the two of them together. It didn't even have to be romantic, just as long as it was just them to.

So today, they sat cuddled up next to each other, a blanket draped over them as the movie The Last Song was just ending.

Lisa sniffled as the credits rolled, but Jake only laughed at her. "You're really crying?" He asked with a faint smile.

Lisa felt the need to defend herself. "Yes, maybe I am. But it was a sad ending, her father died! I've watched this movie three times and every single time I cry at the ending. It's not my fault. And if a girl is crying, shouldn't the guy _comfort _her instead of laughing at her?"

"I'm sorry!" Jake choked back laughter as he kissed her forehead. "But it's okay. I think it's cute,"

"Oh yeah, because leaky mascara and runny noses are just _soo_ attractive," Lisa mumbled sarcastically. "Grab the remote, let's find something else to watch."

Jake popped another piece of popcorn into his mouth from the almost empty bowl snuggled between them and reached for the remote, flipping lazily through the channels.

"What do you wanna watch?" Jake asked her.

"Whatever you want," Lisa shrugged. "But while your channel surfing can we play Questions?"

"Sure," Jake agreed. "You go first,"

"Alright. What's your biggest fear?" She asked him thoughtfully as she grabbed a kernel from the bowl, rolling it between her fingers.

"Airplanes, without a doubt. Every time we take off I get so scared that I'll never touch land again. I know it seems stupid, but I always think about that."

"Well that's a bit gloomy." She noted with a frown.

Jake smiled, his eyes still fixed on the screen in search for a show. "I can't help it, just like you can't help but cry when you watch The Last Song! So we're even. What about you, hotshot? What's your biggest fear?"

Lisa bit her lip, thinking. "I don't know, maybe spiders I guess. Kind of a common fear, but they're creepy." Lisa told him, and he nodded in agreement. "My turn. When was you first girlfriend, and for how long?"

Jake laughed quietly as he continued to flip through the channels. "Like a meaningful one?"

"No, it can be any. Whether it meant anything or not." Lisa decided.

"Then two years ago, with a girl named Taylor. She was sweet and all, but we didn't talk much and it just didn't seem like a relationship. It lasted for three weeks. What about you?"

Lisa felt herself blush. "Mine was in 2nd grade with a kid named Spencer. It lasted for about three days, and we kissed on the swing set on the first day. Kind of embarrassing when I think about it."

Jake laughed. "No, that's cute. Better than my story, anyways. Alright, my turn…" He paused to think, suddenly becoming quiet. Lisa watched him out of the corner of her eye. Finally, he spoke. "Besides that kiss in 2nd grade with Spencer, have you ever been kissed before?"

Lisa turned to look at him, a smile creeping onto her face. He didn't look at her, and instead kept his eyes still trained on the screen. "No," She replied, almost teasingly. "Only by Spencer."

Jake turned to meet her eyes suddenly, causing her to lean back a bit in surprise. She kept her gaze on him and she watched as his eyes drifted discretely down at her lips and then back up. She smirked, knowing what he was thinking.

"Would you like to change that?" He asked her, his words coming out a bit rushed.

Lisa grinned. "Maybe I do,"

Jake turned towards his body so he was facing her before leaning in, slowly closing his eyes. Lisa realized what was about to happen, that she was about to have her first kiss, and her mind began to race about all the things she had heard about what your first kiss was like. And the fact that she was about to kiss Jake made it all the more worthwhile.

She leaned the rest of the way in, accidently bumping noses with him in the process, but didn't care as she pressed her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck, ready to feel the fireworks and butterflies and a huge rush of emotion and feelings she had heard about.

Instead, she felt nothing.

**Hello! I've started to notice that my viewer count isn't as high as when I started this story… I'm not sure why, but can you guys maybe **_**possibly **_**spread the word about my story? On twitter, tumblr, facebook, your friends, blogsites, anything really! Or anyone that likes the whole Cheaper by the Dozen fanfiction stuff! I promise I'll give you guys something back in return, whatever you want(: You guys know I love you all so much, and without you I'd probably already have given up this story. So thank you guys so much, really(:**

**Also just a forewarning, everything is going to start happening all at once from here on out, so be prepared! I think we're sort of nearing the end which is a little scary to think but good nonetheless. We have like maybe ten more chapters left? And the last few involve the long-awaited wedding that I totally almost forgot about, yay! **

**Love you all :***


	32. Detective

**To Pene: About the amount of people who read my story daily, it started out in the 1000s but now only about 100 people per chapter:( But I mean it's better to have only some reading than none at all! I'm just proud to know that I'm entertaining people doing the thing I love most(: **

Anne sat next to her future husband, curled up on the couch with her hand entwined in his, watching a rerun of Friends and finishing off the remains of a tub of Birthday Cake Ice Cream. She wondered if this could be how they'd spend their Friday nights in the future. If it was, she had no complaints. Little Tom Jr. was finally tucked in upstairs in his crib and fast asleep; they were babysitting him for the day while Nora and Bud were out for the first date since they had the fussy but cute baby. They went to the nearby park for a simple date, but from what Anne had heard so far it sounded romantic.

It took a couple hours for Charlie and Anne to finally get Tom Jr. to settle down and stop crying, just as it did every afternoon, but now they had two hours all to themselves and chose to spend it in the media room while all the kids were outside on some day-long adventure in the woods. For once, Charlie and Anne finally got the TV to themselves.

"Is it really all gone?" Charlie asked aloud as he reached his spoon down into the paper tub and coming up with nothing but a melted drop.

Anne giggled and shrugged. "I guess so. But you were the one that ate it all!"

"What?" Charlie scoffed. "That was you! I barely got anything but a couple spoonfuls!"

"Untrue! I watched you eat the half the tub!" Anne countered with a smirk. "Don't you lie to me!"

"Whatever, you said half so were even." Charlie smiled. "Is that good?"

"Fair enough," Anne agreed and reached up to kiss him. As she did, though, she felt an odd lurch in her stomach and let out a gasp of pain.

Charlie leaned back, concern filling his face. "You okay?"

Anne frowned and put a hand on her stomach. "I-I think so… That was really weird."

"Must have been all that ice cream you ate." Charlie teased her. Anne rolled her eyes as he leaned in and kissed her on her nose as an apology.

"Whatever. I'm still thinking that was you." She joked as she snuggled further into Charlie's side and turned her attention to the TV. Charlie's arm wrapped around her shoulder protectively.

The two returned to watching Friends, but a couple minutes later Anne felt the weird, rumbling sensation in her stomach for the second time that day. Pain contorted her face but she tried not to make a sound. Charlie could get easily worried, and even though she was worried herself she didn't want to stress him out.

But, being the married couple they were, Charlie had some sort of telepathic connection to Anne and glanced down at her to see her in pain.

"Whoa. You okay?" He asked, rather startled as Anne clutched her stomach and bit her lip. He lifted himself up to a sitting position and watched his fiancé worriedly.

"I-I'm fine!" She hissed through the pain. Her stomach slowly calmed down and eventually returned to normal, and she breathed out a sigh of relief. "It's gone now. I think it's just something I ate, or maybe I'm just nervous for the wedding or something."

"You sure?" Charlie asked, putting a hand up to her forehead to check for fever. "It could be a disease or something. Maybe something you picked up at the lake? Or what if it's stomach cancer?! The pain is in your lower stomach, right?"

"Charlie, honey, calm down!" Anne reassured him and placed her hands onto his arms. "It's not stomach cancer, I just ate too much or something. Trust me, I'm fine." To prove it even further, she lifted up and kissed him.

When they pulled apart, Charlie still looked unsure. "I don't know. I'm gonna go research the symptoms of stomach cancer on the computer just in case."

"Honey, it's not-"

"I know!" Charlie planted one more kiss on her lips before getting up from the couch. "Just making sure. I promise I won't make a big deal out of it. I'm just- you know, just not making a big deal out of it."

Anne watched with complete adoration as Charlie darted out of the room to find his laptop. It was adorable the way he was so caring and protective of her.

With a sigh, Anne realized it was probably time to wake Tom Jr. from his nap. She rose from the couch and sleepily wandered through the house until she approached the little baby's crib and picked the now wide awake baby and cradled him in her arms.

"Have a good nappy, Tom?" She murmured to the half asleep baby as he yawned. She smiled before descending down the stairs and smack into a fight already well on its way.

"Just tell me why!" Jake yelled and threw his hands into the air. Both him and Sarah were standing in the middle of the living room, facing each other with defiance in their eyes. Sarah's hair was a bit ruffled up for a reason Anne would never know, and Jake looked ready to blow up or cry or both.

"Because you're ALWAYS invading my privacy!" Sarah screeched back, startling the little baby in Anne's arms. "You never leave me alone! It's like you think just because you're my brother you can go nosing through my business. Well news flash, my business is NOT yours too!"

"I'm just trying to look out for you! You're my sister and it's my job, so get used to it!"

"I don't need a babysitter! I'm 15, Jake! I can handle myself!"

"Sometimes it doesn't really seem like that?"

"OH, excuse me?!"

"What's going on?" Henry had suddenly entered the room, holding a banana in his hand. Sarah and Jake turned to look at him. If you had dropped a needle right then and there, you would have heard it.

"Umm, I mean…" Henry stuttered, his eyes darting back and forth between the two. He began to take slow steps back into the kitchen. "I'm just gonna go."

"Don't you go leaving right now! You're the reason this whole mess started!" Sarah hollered at him and Henry stopped where he was.

"I didn't mean it though!" He pleaded, his eyes as big as a puppy's as he looked at Sarah. But Sarah stood her ground and remained cold and unmoving, her hands placed on her hips and a glare as mean as Amelia Hanson's, the little girl from that horrid family, herself.

Anne found herself lost as she turned her head between the three and watched the argument unfolding in front of her, as if it was a tennis match.

"Whether or not you meant it doesn't mean you haven't already done it, Henry. It was you and that stupid brain of yours!" Sarah was now fuming, and her voice was a near growl. Henry had obviously done something wrong that caused a rift between Sarah and Jake, Anne was sure.

"Well if I could take it back I would! It was just a-" He began to form a word but stopped in his tracks, his gaze flitting over to Jake, who was just as lost as Anne was right then. "A-a mistake."

"Sarah? What is he talking about?" Jake now piped up, no longer able to take not knowing what was going on. "Is he the reason you won't talk to me?"

"It's nothing Jake!"

"Stay out of it!"

Both Henry and Sarah said at the same time, before realizing that and turning to glare at each other. Jake stood in the middle like a lost puppy, not knowing whether to probe on and figure what this was all about or letting them be. It all factored into whether or not he could take Sarah's rebellious temper at that moment.

"Look, Sarah, I said I was sorry! And I have dirt on you too! So why don't we both just forgive and forget?" Henry asked Sarah, his hands clasped together and held to his chest.

"No way! What you did was far more awful than anything I've ever done! And besides, what you have on me is a _lie!" _Sarah's voice cracked on the last word and before she could say anything else, she turned and bolted to the front door, flinging it open and storming out. If this was Anne's place and the time was right, she would have laughed at her sister-in-law's dramatic exit.

Jake turned to Henry, now confused more than anything. "Could you please tell me what this is all about?"

Anne wanted to know that herself. She had half the mind to sit them all down and figure it out on her own, judging on the clues so far. This was more dramatic than any soap opera could ever be.

But she couldn't do that and now Henry went pale in the face and he began fiddling with his hands, looking guilt stricken. He turned his head wildly between the front door, to Jake, and then to the stairs, his exit. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead.

"Henry?" Jake prompted, watching his brother closely.

"I don't know!" Henry snapped suddenly. "PMS-ing!"

And then he was jumping over the couch and dashing straight up the stairs, without a single look back. And a few minutes later, Anne heard a door slam upstairs.

She turned to Jake now, still cradling an irritated Tom Jr. in her arms, and shot her brother-in-law a look.

"I'm just as confused as you are, buddy." Anne chuckled as Jake suddenly blew out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"It doesn't matter, Sarah will come around." He declared with a sense of firmness in his voice. "She always does. Even when she was little."

And then he turned and marched into the kitchen, leaving Anne alone with a colicky baby in her arms and feeling more confused than ever. Only thing she did know, however, was that she was going to get to the bottom of this. No matter how much digging she needed to do.


	33. Awkard

**To Lexilove329: Haha that really is a coincidence! That guy Sam seems like a total douche though, pardon the language But that's so sweet of your friends to stick up for you! And don't worry, I ramble on a TON before I get to the point, just like I'm doing right now! But awwww, I'm really glad you like my fanfic! And I can't help but blush when I saw you called me a "great fanfic writer" because honestly I've never thought my writing actually entertains people! I guess I just do it because it soothes me, in some weird way(: Haha but thank you so much for your review, you're the best!**

**And numbah435spiritsong: can I just say I LOVE YOU! You're like my favorite person ever right now, you never fail to write a review on my story on how I can approve, what you liked, what you didn't, and ahhhh it's just amazing! Thank you so much3**

**Okay sorry, onto the story!**

On the other side of the lake, taking place inside the Murtaugh's family media room complete with a flat screen and popcorn maker, sat the most awkward date in the history of dates. And Becky was a part of it, sitting on the opposite side of the couch with her knees tucked under her, wishing she could be anywhere but here. Right beside her sat an equally uncomfortable Harold, his thumbs unable to stop fiddling as he only half-paid attention to the movie. The air around them was a magnetic field of awkwardness, and Becky had no idea why. Usually they were more comfortable around each other on the forced dates their fathers set them up into, acting like old friends. But today it was strangely different and she didn't like it one bit.

It all started a few weeks ago, she realized. For the past couple of weeks, they hadn't been spending as much time together. Usually, they spent every Sunday together at his father's golf resort, while the dads played tee on the fields. And he came over a couple of days every month to go swimming with her at the lake, although most of her family tagged along as well (not that she minded). She guessed it was her fault, mainly, because she was the one pushing them away. It wasn't him, it was just they had no real connection, at least in her mind! Her thoughts and feelings were tangled together too much to unravel anymore and so, quite recklessly, she thought of the most brilliant thing to do. She would distance herself from Harold.

It was already looking ever so evident that he might, just might, have started to actually love her. Crazy to think, yes, but she could just tell by the way he acted around her. He had changed over the summer, now being immensely kind to her, offering his jacket to her when it was cold, waiting on her hand and foot, and even becoming friends with her siblings. So, in her mind, unwanted love equaled distance. So that's what she did with Harold. Yes, she felt bad. Immensely guilty with herself, in fact. But, it was for the best. It wasn't worth leading him on when she knew that she didn't feel a connection between them. That she didn't like him that way.

Perhaps she could just try and watch the movie, and forget about all the drama that was occurring in this very household, that used to be so pleasantly boring.

So, Becky turned to Harold with a smile on her face. "Pass the popcorn, please,"

"What's going on?" He suddenly blurted out, his thumbs still fiddling nonstop. He didn't look at her; his eyes were still trained on the TV even though the program playing was long forgotten.

Becky stopped, her hand still outstretched towards the bowl, mouth still stretched out into a smile. It slowly faded from her face as she clearly her throat nervously. "W-what do you mean?"

"I mean why are you avoiding me all of the sudden? Don't act like you haven't, I know what you're up to."

Becky was shocked. How he had figured out her plan was beyond her. But now she was sitting here and she had absolutely no idea what to say. His eyes were still on the TV, and Becky had half a mind to turn to the TV as well and try and block out everything that was happening this very moment.

"It's okay." Harold blurted out. She turned to him once again, both curious and scared of what he was about to say.

Harold gave out a sigh, pulling his hands apart and finally turning towards her. When their eyes met Becky could sense a twinge of sadness and desperation in his. It nearly broke her heart right there. It made her want to wrap him up in her arms and hold him tight and pretend that she did love him, and she wasn't going anywhere. But she could sense this was it, the end of their relationship.

"I know you don't like me the way I like you. You like Jake. And don't deny it, because I've seen you around him. You act just the way I act around you. You're in love. It's obvious."

Becky remained silent for a second, absorbing this in, trying to come up with something to say. So maybe she hadn't been so secret about her plan… But Harold knew now, and she wasn't going to just stand there without giving him an explanation as to why this all happened.

"Harold, I'm so sorry! This whole thing is really confusing and-"

"Don't be sorry; don't worry about it. I can see from how tense you've gotten that there's a lot of drama going on. I don't want to pile anything else onto it. I just don't want to put you into a position you don't want to be," Harold removed the popcorn bowl from his lap and pushed himself off the couch and stood up. "We can just be friends, and I'll tell my dad I was the one that broke up with you."

"Harold…" Becky frowned as he didn't turn towards her to look at her. His back was facing her. "I just want you to know that none of it was your fault. You did nothing wrong."

"I know," he looked behind his shoulder and gave her a real smile, but it faded as he turned and walked to the door. "Goodbye, Becky. I really do hope everything works out for you."

And for some reason, despite all the drama happening, despite him walking out the doorway, Becky could only think of one thing. Now she had broken a record of two hearts instead of one. And it was only halfway through summer.


	34. Update (please read)

First off, this isn't a new chapter, as you can tell from the chapter title. I'm really sorry for not updating this week. But this has been one of the longest weeks of my life. This week we lost two very special guys in our town. One on Sunday and one on Tuesday, and both were just a huge, huge shock that no one saw coming. I'm not going to go into details because I just don't think I have the right to, but both went to my high school, and one of them was the star football player on our team. And my town literally revolves around the football team and supports them at every game, so it was a huge loss for us. The whole week was spent mourning and grieving at my school, and I just had absolutely no time at all to write. I'm just not feeling able to write at the moment right now, but I promise I'll update next Friday for you guys.

I'm really sorry.


	35. Not a Chapter (Hiatus)

I'm really sorry guys but I gotta go on hiatus for awhile. I promise I'm not giving up on this story, but I've been so stressed lately and I just need a break from everything. I'll start this story back up on Christmas Break so I have a long break to finally get myself back together and in routine. I'll probably try to write as much chapters as I can during the break so when I come back you'll be getting like three chapters per week! I know this is probably going to kill my reader views and all, but PLEASE don't give up on this story! Favorite it, save it to your tabs, whatever, just please give it some time. I'll post again on December 20th or around then. I'm really sorry, I love you guys so much though :*


	36. The Fight

In the Murtaugh's dining room both the Bakers and the Murtaughs were sitting down for their annual once a week brunch. Eggs, pancakes, biscuits, bacon, waffles, fruit salad, and everything else you could possibly imagine took up most of the space on the table, leaving the children forced to sort of hold their plates in their laps. Chatter was mixed in with laughter and teasing, the sounds that Sarah had come to know and love in this family. Brunch had become sort of a tradition between the two families since the summer started, and it was one no one argued with.

Sarah sat in the middle of it, munching happily on a piece of toast, one hand under the table holding Elliot's hand who sat to the right of her, eating a bowl of cereal. This could possibly be her favorite day of the week, when everyone sat down and ignored all the drama happening between them and ate like the one big family they were. Plus, it gave her even more time to spend with Elliot.

Thinking of this, she turned to smile at Elliot, who smiled right back and kissed her cheek. Despite the trace of milk he had left on her face and the fact Kenneth that pretended to throw up at the sight of their PDA, nothing could possibly have made this day better than it already was.

Until suddenly, Jimmy Murtaugh jogged into the dining room from the front hall slightly out of breath, a bright yellow piece of paper in his hand and his eyes alight with excitement.

"Good news guys!" He called out in his cheery voice, pulling out a chair next to Sarina and grabbing a biscuit from the center of the table as he sat down.

"We've been invited to the annual Summer Bash down at the lodge. We go every summer, its basically just a get together of all the families for a cookout, lots of games, and there's a firework show at the end. I think there's also a teen's party on the basement floor of The Lodge. The kids would love it there. So unless you guys have other plans, Tom, do you think you might be interested in tagging along with us?"

Now, if someone had told Jimmy Murtaugh two years ago that he'd literally be asking for Tom and his family's company, he would've laughed in your face and asked if you were crazy. Tom would've been equally as skeptical. But a lot had changed in the course of two years.

"Of course. Honey, do you want to go?" Tom turned to look at Kate on his right, who nodded eagerly.

"I think it'd be nice to finally get out of the house and head into town as a group." Kate smiled at the kids, who all exchanged looks and shrugged. _Why not? _Sarah thought. Maybe somewhere in the middle of it all, she and Elliot could sneak away for a moment and finally have time alone. Honestly, it was quite embarrassing being caught in a bathroom or closet locking lips with Elliot's hand under her shirt by one of your siblings. And trust me, they'd been caught _plenty _of times. But it wasn't like they could do anything about it. With no locks on the bathrooms and a house full of children, the odds were against them.

Jimmy bit into a biscuit now lathered in jam and nodded. "Awesome. I've been a couple of times, and a lot of folks around town are usually there. I think it'll be fun."

"Just meet us there around 7 and we'll walk in together."

Sarah ran her brush one last time through her hair, making sure it cascaded down her back in waves before checking her eyelashes for clumpy mascara one last time. Satisfied with herself, she took one last look in the mirror. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a white flowy top that Lorraine had handed down to her a couple years ago, paired with flip flops and a bunch of bracelets on her right wrist. She had spritzed perfume on her wrists and neck and had to admit, she looked pretty.

"Sarah! Come on, we're leaving!" Her father called from downstairs, and she quickly grabbed her phone and wallet, took one last look in the mirror, and ran downstairs.

The rest of the family we're decked out in their prettiest tops and button downs. Even Nigel and Kyle had matching khaki pants and blue button ups on. It looked rather adorable, much to the dismay of the twins, who kept tugging at their collars and mumbling about being itchy.

One by one the Bakers piled into the car until everyone was in, and Tom started the car. Then they were off.

The ride must have only taken less than five minutes because all too soon Sarah found herself stepping out of the car in front of the Lodge. It was a really big place, actually, since it was a hotel and lodge that combined into becoming the main hangout spot in town. The odd thing about it was that it was made entirely out of wood and stones, making it look like a cabin. Not a bad different though, it actually made the place look homey.

The Murtaugh's car pulled up behind them and they all piled out. Sarah searched the unusually large family for Elliot until she finally spotted him and called him over.

"Wow." Elliot said, his eyes wide as he eyed Sarah up and down. "You look… amazing."

Sarah smirked. "You don't look too bad yourself, either."

Elliot laughed and rolled his eyes before wrapping his arm tightly around Sarah's waist, kissing the top of her head, and proceeding to walk with the rest of the family up the steps into The Lodge.

Inside, the place resembled a clear image of a cabin, multiplied and stretched to become the size of a hotel. The walls were made of wood and various animal furs were used as rugs. A fire was lit in the chimney despite the fact it was nearly 100 degrees outside.

There had to be at least more than 200 people here. It was loud, too, full of laughter and drunken small talk. A bar was set up in the corner, giving a steady stream of alcohol around to whoever was shouting orders. Classical music was drifting lazily from the speakers spaced out on the walls, and some people were swaying to the beat. The get together, if you could call it that, was in full swing.

Sarah was about to ask where all the kids were, when a man in his late twenties called out her father's name and waved him over.

"Hey, that's Sam!" Tom nudged his wife with his elbow and nodded over to the man with a smile. "He owns one of the lake houses, I think. I went golfing with him a few times last time we were here."

"Yes, he's one of my friends." Jimmy spoke up before motioning the two families to follow him over.

The man, Sam, greeted the two fathers with pats on the back and shook Kate and Sarina's hand. "I'm glad you guys could make it. I haven't seen you all in awhile."

"We're you the one that invited us?" Jimmy asked as he accepted a glass of champagne from one of the waiters milling around the rooms.

Sam nodded, taking a glass for himself. "Yeah, sorry for the late notice. Hope I didn't ruin any of your plans or anything for tonight."

"Nah, we weren't planning anything." Jimmy said before taking a sip of the champagne.

"I see you brought the whole gang with you as well," Sam turned to the kids. "There's a party for kids only just down those stairs. There are plenty of games and food for you guys, if you want to go. Your parents won't mind, right?" He turned to look at them.

Kate shook her head, taking another sip of her champagne. "Of course not. Just stick together, okay? And keep your phones handy if we need to call you."

Henry took the lead and marched straight down the stairs, looking back every couple of seconds to make sure nobody was getting left behind. The end of the stairwell hit a small non-promising wooden door at the bottom. Not somewhere you'd typically find a party to be at. Sarah looked hesitantly at Elliot before following her brother down the stairs and through the door.

As soon as the door was opened, Sarah could tell it was much more mellow than the one on top. Even though there were more teenagers then Sarah had originally thought there was at the lake, because there had to be at least 30 kids in there, the music was softer and there wasn't any alcohol to be found. Couches were pushed against all four walls, where kids sat talking with red solo cups filled with soda in hand. A game of spin the bottle was set up in the far left corner, using an empty champagne bottle as the spinner.

Sarah didn't recognize too many faces, all of them looked unfamiliar which was odd considering she had been at this lake for a while now. Henry motioned for the rest to follow him as he maneuvered his way across the room towards the couches. She followed him while scanning the room for something to drink, when suddenly she caught a pair of eyes that made her heart leap out of her chest.

Kevin.

The little creep that had been flirting with her on the boat the last time they met. And he wasn't alone.

As if telepathically, Elliot sensed her tense up and turned to look at what her eyes were trained on.

It was the whole Hansen family, sitting on a row of couches looking at the family with smirks on their faces and red solo cups in their hands. The tension in the air was almost palpable, and it was blatant both families weren't happy to see each other.

Realizing they weren't alone, all of the Murtaugh and Baker children turned to face the other family as they stood up and walked over to them with an overwhelming sense of pride and flamboyancy. Marshall was in the lead with George and Kevin beside him like they were his followers. Behind them were the rest of the children, Amelia, Bruce, and Buck.

Henry stepped in front of the gang as if to protect them. "What do you want?" He spat as Marshall and the rest of them slowed to a stop in front of them.

"The question is what are you doing here? This place is on our side of the lake, I thought we already established that." Kevin jeered back with a snarl.

"The lake is everyone's, stupid. Not yours." Kyle stepped forward and mimicked Henry's actions to protect the rest of the family. "Go back to your own little island where you belong because no one wants you here."

It was a stupid comeback, but Kevin narrowed his eyes at the little boy in front of him.

"Kyle, get back." Lorraine muttered quietly as she tugged Kyle behind Henry. Although it was sweet for him to stand up for his family, he was only 6 and had no experience in fights like these. He could easily get hurt.

"Yeah, listen to your sister, shrimp." George grumbled in his deep voice.

Sarah looked around. A turf war was brewing in the center of the room yet everyone else was oblivious to what was about to happen. People were still swaying to music with drinks in their hand, laughing and telling jokes. But not her family.

"I think you guys should just leave." Henry said curtly. "It's obvious neither family's are fond of each other and there's no reason to start a fight."

"Who says there isn't a reason?" Marshall countered as he stepped forward, towering over Henry. "Quite frankly your little family pisses me off. Thinking the lake is 'equal' and for everyone to use. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Life's not fair, and sometimes the bigger guys get what they deserve. And what we deserve is the lake. I think it's time to teach you all a lesson. But anyways, it's not my fault if none of you can hold your own in a fight. Not with puny little wimps like yourself."

Henry was on fumes now, his fists balled together and his jaw permanently set. If anything got Henry mad it was someone insulting him on his masculinity.

Knowing this, Jake grabbed his shoulder as if he was afraid Henry might lunge at them at any second. "It's not worth it, man. Give it a rest and let the little creeps go."

"Who you callin' a creep, huh?" Kevin stepped up and pushed Jake roughly. Lisa made a squeak and moved to step between the two, but Becky held her back.

"Don't you dare touch him." Henry growled, his muscles bulging in tension as he pushed Kevin back but harder this time. He went flying and almost fell flat on his butt.

"And don't you touch my brother." Marshall shouted and swung a right hook at Henry. It landed square on his jaw and Henry grunted out in pain. This time both Lorraine and Lisa screamed.

"Henry!" Lorraine shouted.

Marshall glowered down at the keeled over boy with a devious smile, proud of what he did. In the back, Kevin and Buck were both laughing.

With a roar, Henry stood up and tackled Marshall to the ground and swung punches one after the other after the other.

"Get off my brother!" Bruce screamed and suddenly was on top of Henry. Marshall fought back and tried to overturn the heavystrong boy.

And suddenly all hell broke loose. The boys of the family joined in with fists poised, swinging at one another. Mike, Kenneth, and Jake were all tackling George who was big and strong enough to overtake a cow. Kevin and Elliot were in the midst of a full blown fight, taking swings and hits as hard as they could. Sarah shouted at them both to knock it off but none of them listened. Even the twins Nigel and Kyle were fighting little Buck, both of them pinning him to the ground. Lorraine, being the motherly figure, tried to pull the twins away but they relented. Lisa and Becky were doing the same to the three against George, and Jessica and Kim were trying to pull Henry off Marshall who already had a bloody lip and several cuts on his cheeks.

The other kids in the room had gathered around and were now cheering the families on, forming a ring around them. It wasn't clear as to who or what they were cheering for, but all that mattered to them was there was a fight going on and they weren't gonna miss it.

Sarah tried to step in between Elliot and Kevin and now Bruce, who had joined in. The fight was not looking good and Elliot was outnumbered and taking punches left and right, but he wouldn't back down. Suddenly Bruce kneed him in the gut and Elliot fell to the ground with an "oof". Kevin and Bruce ganged up on him and began to kick him wherever they could score. Sarah's shrill scream could be heard above all the nice and she leaped in to stop them. She managed to pull Kevin away but Bruce wouldn't give. Panicking, she grabbed his arm with both hands and with all her might tried to tug him away. Bruce turned and then suddenly the world was filled with black and blue and shiny stars dancing in her vision as she felt something connect with her cheek. Her legs gave out under her and pain spread through her body like no other. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

"DUDE. You just punched a girl!" She heard someone, Kevin she thought, shout. A gasp was released from someone else.

"I-I didn't know man! I thought it was someone else trying to fight!" Bruce's voice sounded panicked and high, which was odd for him.

Someone's hand was on her, shaking her roughly as if to wake her. The world slowly began to refocus and Sarah opened her eyes with a groan. And at that moment she wished she hadn't.

"You just punched my girlfriend, you asshole!" Elliot had managed to get up from the ground and was now lunging at Bruce with cold malice. He swung punch after punch after punch, giving the boy a black eye and a bloody nose.

"Elliot, stop!" Sarah yelled in terror, still clutching onto her swollen cheek. "He didn't know it was me, stop!"

The others had stopped what they were doing after the incident that had just occurred, and now Henry and Jake were trying to pull Elliot away from the boy who was now in a fetal position on the ground.

"LET GO OF ME." Elliot was screaming and kicking, trying to get loose and continue his assault. "HE PUNCHED MY GIRLFRIEND. GET OFF."

"It was an accident, man! I had no idea!" Bruce was blubbering on the floor as he backed up in fear. "I would never punch a girl on purpose! I swear!"

"Elliot calm down!" Sarah pleaded. "I'm fine now, it's not his fault-"

Suddenly the lights shut off and everyone screamed.

"QUIET." A loud, gruff voice was shouted over the piercing noise of panic. "Everyone calm down!"

The lights were turned back on and poised next to the light switch were two men dressed in police uniforms, looking mad as ever. It was as if they turned off the switch to the chaos in the room, because everyone quickly dispersed from the ring they had formed, backing off into the corners and trying to look uninvolved. Bruce was picked up from the ground quickly by his brothers, and so was Sarah as the two men made their way towards the group. Even Elliot stopped struggling against his friends and stood up straight, although he still looked ready to murder someone.

"We got a complaint from upstairs saying there was too much noise. Was there a fight?" The bigger security guard, an African American man with bulging muscles and a tattoo on his left bicep asked first.

No one answered him. Not even Henry or Marshall, who were both too afraid of being in the presence of the police to reply.

"If none of your are going to give me an answer, then all of you are going to have to come with me."

Two hours and a couple of icepacks later, Sarah sat on couches with the rest of her family in the lodge's main room being yelled at by both the Murtaugh's parents and hers. Double the trouble.

"But mom, it wasn't our fault. Honest!" Henry pleaded. "They started it. It was Kevin who pushed Jake first and after that it all kind of went to shit."

"Don't use that kind of language in front of the twins!" Kate gasped as she looked nervously towards Kyle and Nigel, who sat on the couch with bags of peas on both of their lips, half asleep and oblivious to it all. "I don't care who started it, but the fact you let it get that out of control that Nigel and Kyle were both involved, even Sarah? Henry, we thought we could trust you." Kate turned to glower at each and every one of the children. "And I'm not just blaming it on Henry, I'm blaming it on all of you. A fist fight in public? I just…" She closed her eyes and pressed a hand against her forehead as if to ward off a headache.

Tom moved to put his hands on his wife's shoulders in a comforting gesture. "I'm very disappointed in all of you, and I understand that it's not just your fault but that doesn't make it any better."

Jimmy now stood up. "We're going to talk with the Hanson's parents right now to smooth things over and discuss keeping both families separated for awhile. Wait here while we go." He and all four of the parents walked to the opposite side of the room where the Hanson's were. The kids were shooting daggers with her eyes at them.

Sarah turned to Elliot, who was sitting in an arm chair opposite from hers. He was nursing a swollen lip and bloody purple bruises on his fists. One thing Sarah knew for certain was that he didn't get those bruises from somebody else. It was left to show how hard he had been fighting back, and he actually looked proud as he studied his fists.

"How could you, Elliot." Sarah spat at him. Alarmed, Elliot broke his train of thought and looked up at her as if confused.

"Huh? What did I do?" He asked, although his voice still held a bit of tension from the fight.

"It was an accident, he didn't mean to. We kept telling you that and you still wouldn't stop attacking the poor boy!"

"Poor boy?! Are we talking about the same guy who almost knocked you out cold? I was protecting you!"

"You almost killed him! I can protect myself, Elliot. You don't have to come to my rescue."

"You're being a little ridiculous, there. I didn't almost kill him, and what did you want me to do? I wouldn't have just sat there while my girlfriend was being beaten by a guy."

Now Sarah was standing up, pointing an accusing finger at her boyfriend. "You were the one that started it all! And you're the one being ridiculous! It was an accidental slap, no need to go ape-shit on the boy."

"Oh, so you're taking his side now?!"

"No, I'm just saying you're blowing things out of proportion and being unreasonable!"

"If I'm so unreasonable, then why are you even dating me?"

"I don't know! Why am I?! You tell me!"

"Fine! I guess were through!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"FINE!" And with that Sarah whirled on the heels of her foot and stormed out of the lobby in the direction of the Baker's car. Elliot watched with fire in his eyes as she left, his chest rising and falling as he tried to calm himself.

The rest of the family looked at each other, stunned, not knowing what to say. And as if realizing what he had just done, Elliot collapsed down into his armchair and buried his head in his hands. Letting out a frustrated groan.

"Elliot…" Becky ventured nervously.

"What?!" Elliot snapped as he stood up, pushing the chair back a good 5 inches. "Just leave me alone." And he too turned to storm out of the door as well, leaving the rest of the family to exchange nervous glances, thinking of the prospect of what was to come.

**OKAY. First off, that was probably the worst ending I've ever come up with in my life. I'm actually laughing at it right now, I'm so sorry but I couldn't think of anything else. Secondly, I'd like to say I'm soooooo soooo sorry for not updating for half a year. I promised to update in the winter and now its freaking summer break. I know most of you have probably given up on this story and have long ago erased it from your alerts. And to be honest I gave up on it too for awhile there. I had no idea where to go, I was suffering from writer's block, the words wouldn't flow on paper anymore like they used to and I was just done. But I decided to continue it again for a little while and see how it goes from here. I know this chapter is literally nothing compared to the rest of my writing, because I have written in well over a year and this whole scene I had come up with in my head was really hard for me to get down onto paper. Especially the fight scene, because as you can see I royally suck at describing action. I'll just stick to my romance/drama genres thank you very much ^.^ I have a general idea as to where I'm gonna take off from here and I have written down a backbone of about 20 more chapters and what they'll consist of. Mainly the drama that's gonna be happening here in about a couple chapters. But like I said, the words just aren't flowing like they used to and it's getting to be hard to transfer the images in my head onto here and I just don't know why. So if my writing sucks for the next few chapters forgive me. I also got a job recently that takes up most of my time, so I can't have a set date for when I update anymore. I know that really frustrates some of you but I'll try and update as frequently as possible! **

**Now about this chapter: I don't know why but I picture Elliot to be the kind of guy to never hurt a fly unless you mess with someone he loves. I'm sorry if you didn't like that he was a little too out of control, but I thought it matched his personality and love for Sarah perfectly. And I know yall love them both together but I had to break them up for the time being. You'll see in the end! If you're still reading this whole thing, I love you. Heck, if you're still reading this story in general I love you even more!**

**But it's safe to say that I think I'm back :* **


	37. Broken

Two days later, after the devastating fight that broke up the golden couple and created a full blown turf war, Lisa sat at the edge of the lake throwing pebbles out onto the lake deep in thought. The one thing on her mind was the kiss, and it frustrated her to no end. Why hadn't she felt anything? Jake meant so much to her, yet when her lips met his she had felt absolutely nothing. Not a firework, a single spark, nothing. And it overcame her with guilt and confusion, gnawing at her heart and overwhelming her completely.

She really didn't have anyone to turn to either. She had thought about confessing it to her sister, Becky, but she was probably consumed with her own thoughts. Besides, Lisa didn't want to distribute any more drama. As if the family needed anymore.

It took her so long to finally get the courage and ask Jake out. So long to finally confess her feelings and let go of all inhibitions. So why hadn't she felt a single thing when they kissed? She had dreamed of it before, the perfect moment when their lips met and fireworks exploded in her mind and left her spinning. But it was the complete opposite. What did she do wrong? It was like the universe was against her. She couldn't please it if she tried. Bad luck was her middle name.

But if she hadn't felt anything, did that mean she even liked Jake? Or was it just because he was the only cute boy around her age that she felt the need to like him. She had heard it plenty of times, if you liked the guy you kissed you would feel sparks. And she had imagined getting so much sparks in the kiss that it could be compared to sticking your finger in an electrical socket. But it was nothing like that. In fact, it was the opposite. That worried her. _Maybe I should just break up with him, _Lisa thought as she bitterly kicked the ground. _It wouldn't be fair to lead him on like this. Especially if I didn't like him._

But breaking up would be even worse. Becky broke his heart once already, having Lisa break up with him as well would be double the pain. He might even ignore her the rest of the summer like he was doing to Becky.

Lisa let out a scream of frustration. Her conscience was pulling her apart, tugging her in two different ways and she had no idea what to do.

On the complete opposite side of the lake Jake Baker sat on his bed, pulling at the threads sewed into his covers and looking torn as ever. He could hear his sister and best friend, Sarah, crying in the bedroom opposite to his. He wanted so badly to go in there and comfort her like he always used to when she was upset, but she was mad at him and he didn't want to make things worse between them then they already were.

This was all Elliot's fault. Rage burned through Jake's veins. If he hadn't broken up with Sarah, she would be completely happy still. Maybe he was also the reason Sarah was ignoring him so much. Maybe he had said something to her that had caused her to drift away from her brother. And he had gotten so out of hand during the fight. It was like something had taken over him and made him go absolutely insane. But that hadn't made anything better for either families.

The echoes and sounds of Sarah's cries and sniffles drifted its way into Jake's room once again. Entirely frustrated and desperate, Jake snapped out of his thoughts and leapt off his bed and out of his room. He couldn't stand it any longer. Sarah was his sister and fight or not, he wasn't gonna sit there and listen to her be upset because of some idiot. So he obeyed his brotherly instincts and quickly rushed to her room.

As soon as he opened the door, his heart broke in two. There Sarah was, leaning against the foot of her bed with a box of tissues at her side. Her eyes were puffy and red, her cheeks stained with tears, and on sight you could tell she was broken inside.

At the sound of the door opening, she looked up and her eyes met with Jake's. Her lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears, making Jake quickly rush over to her and pick her up in his arms.

He gently laid her down on the bed still in his arms, cradling her, and finally let her openly cry into his shoulder. The sound of it broke his heart, and he whispered comforting things in her ear while rocking back and forth to soothe her. He used to do this a lot when they were little and Sarah had a nightmare in the middle of the night. She would tap on his door in the early hours of the morning, and Jake would allow her to come in and lay in his lap as he smoothed her hair and whispered happy thoughts in her ear until she fell asleep again.

It was like déjà vu all over again.

"It'll be okay," He whispered. "And if it isn't okay, it's not the end."

But in reality, Jake wasn't so sure that was entirely true. And right there and then, Jake swore to himself that Elliot was never allowed to touch his sister again. He would make sure of it.

**Okay, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter because it felt so jumbled and boring and idk… I'll see how I feel about it in the morning. Hope you guys like it, it was mainly a filler but I needed to have it in this story to show that Jake and Sarah are on good terms now! Yay ^_^**


	38. This Family is Falling Apart

Since last night, the night Sarah had bawled on his shoulder for almost the whole night until she drifted into a fitful slumber in his arms, Jake had been fuming. Fuming because everything was going so horribly wrong and there was nothing he could do. He couldn't protect Sarah from everything, he knew that, but on the other hand he was her big brother, the one that was supposed to beat up the boys that broke her heart. But what if the boy turned out to be his own best friend? But despite the title he help, Elliot was responsible for Sarah's pain and Jake felt like he needed to do something about it. He had contemplated rowing his boat straight on over there and punching Elliot square in the face. He thought, too, that maybe he could disallow Elliot from seeing the girl who's heart was broken, all because of him. Although the first option seemed more fitting and a lot more appealing to his fists, the latter of the two won and he began his journey across the lake to the Murtaugh's house. The same little row boat, coincidentally, that Sarah used to occupy on her countless little trips to go see Elliot when they weren't taking the big boat across as a family. Jake still wasn't quite sure what he was gonna say or do as he rode up to the dock and tied the boat's anchor rope onto the banister, but he decided to wing it. The rage he contained in him, silent like a lion stalking prey, would probably come up with words for him. With the air thick and dark storm clouds beginning to fill the air, the Murtaughs and the Bakers decided to call off all water play that afternoon and instead resorted to afternoon naps and time to themselves. Which meant these days, with the tension between the two families in the air (for what Jake did not know), both families were separated by an invisible border and holed up within the confines of their own households. Not even Nigel and Kyle decided to venture on over to the Murtaughs to play video games with Kenneth. So Jake boldly walked up to the door and knocked, rather hard, against the newly polished wood of the Murtaugh's door. Half expecting Elliot himself to answer the door, he was surprised when Becky emerged from the withholds of the house wearing only a big tshirt and pj shorts, her hair damp from a shower, and felt rather bashful and awkward at once. "Oh, hey…" came the soft sound of Becky's voice, unsure of where the two stood, despite trying to remain friends. She reached up self-consciously towards her hair and brought it to one side of her face, combing through the ends. "Hey." He responded curtly, with an awkward attempt of a smile. "Do you know where Elliot is?" Becky only nodded in response and parted the door to allow him to pass. As he did so, the soft and sweet aroma of her conditioner rose to his nose and he breathed in heartily, a pang of sorrow filling him momentarily before it vanished. "He's upstairs in the media room. You, uhh, you should know where it is." Becky nodded before hurriedly closing the front door behind him and retreating into the depths of the house, presumably towards her room. Jake shook his head as if to clear his thoughts, wanting only to feel the vengeance he had against Elliot instead of the sorrow that came with Becky. He stalked up the stairs leading to the media room, which was alienated from all other parts of the house and led onto to the single, but very much large, room Jake came to growingly know and love. He heard the echoes of the shooting of a video game reverberate through the staircase, most likely one of the first-person shooter games Elliot always seemed to play. Jake reached the top and immediately recognized the spiky jet black hair of Elliot. No one else was up here, as he half-heartedly played the game by himself, sprawled across the large couch. His back was facing Jake, so he had no idea he was here. "Game over!" The voice from the video game announced in a dark and villainous laugh as the character on the TV sank to the ground, arm outstretched to the screen, before collapsing to the ground in defeat. Elliot let out an audibly sigh. The player had been shot open by a bullet through his stomach and was visibly leaking blood. "Hey." The loudness of Jake's voice in the suddenly quiet room surprised even himself. Elliot whipped around and peered over the couch, alarmed that he wasn't alone. "Hey," he nodded back, unsure of what kind of way Jake was gonna react. The two stood in uncomfortable silence. Jake shuffled his feet together, willing desperately for the lion in his mind to pounce and help him come up with something to say. He had been angry the whole boat ride here, but when he was faced in front of Elliot he had no idea where to start. But it was Elliot who spoke first. "How's Sarah?" Jake studied him, a bit wary. "She's broken." He admitted, deciding to be truthful. "She isn't all herself right now…" Elliot nodded, looking down at his hands. "So am I." Rage began to seep into Jake's mind. "Well you can't feel self-pity. You were the one that started it." "Me?!" Elliot scoffed in disbelief. He looked like he was about to protest, but instead he closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't know if you actually believe what you're saying right now, but she's your sister and you have to take her side. I get that." "I don't have to, I want to because I'm right." Jake glowered at his old best friend. "Whatever." Elliot rolled his eyes and returned to his video game, obviously not in the mood to argue. "You haven't seen Sarah the way I saw her last night. You don't even know what you're putting her through!" Elliot had visibly tensed up, his shoulders and back muscles strained, but he remained glued to his spot with both eyes fixed on the flat screen in front of him. But this angered Jake more as he stood there, virtually ignored. All Elliot was concerned with was his stupid video game! Jake remained in silence, not used to someone ignoring him in a fight. Usually, he fought with his siblings, and that never resulted in silence. Mostly it was just arguing until pulled apart by their parents. The Bakers were a headstrong bunch. Which is exactly why Jake cleared his throat and declared the thing he had come to do. "You can't see Sarah anymore." This got Elliot turned towards him, looking at him with a mixture of bewilderment and loathing. "You can't tell me what to do." Jake shrugged and leaned against the wall, a smug look on his face. "I most certainly can when my sister is involved. And anyways, the house where Sarah is belongs to the Baker family, and if a Baker member says you cannot cross than you cannot." "Well, you can't stop her from coming over here." Elliot argued back. Jake gave a false bout of laughter, feeling the lion inside him come alive. "Oh? And what makes you think she'd want to come over here, especially after what you did to her?" Elliot's fists were clenched and he bore the similar look he had when he attacked Kevin the night at the party. "I did nothing." He spat through gritted teeth. Jake rolled his eyes in response. "Shut up, you know damned well you did. But do know, if you ever cross the Baker property again without my permission, it won't be as friendly and non-physical as this." After a heated stare down with Elliot in the media room and with a not so gentleman-like flip of the bird, Jake was back in his row boat beginning the steady journey across the lake back home. His rage still burned like a candle, although dim, for how insensitive Elliot had responded towards the mention of Sarah and how much Jake regretted not popping Elliot in the face while he had the chance. But the clouds were growing increasingly dark with the promise of steady rain, and Jake wanted to get home as fast as possible before it started. Lucky for him, the Baker and Murtaugh house were within seeing distance from the other, only a couple hundred meters away, which meant that the to and forth trips only took about 5 minutes by rowboat and 1 by motorboat. But Jake wouldn't be taking this journey again for quite some time, seeing all ties broken with the Murtaughs and no reason to go over there anymore. Even if his other siblings went over for a game of Marco Polo or boat tag, a game they had made up with the motor boats. As Jake was rowing, his mind slowly focused back to the present and out of thought, and when he did so he happened to notice another boat parked at the Baker's dock. It was sleek black, a boat that wasn't familiar to him and didn't belong to either two houses. He could just make out two figures on the boat, one by the mast and the other jumping swiftly onto the dock. Curiosity got the better of him and Jake quickened his rowing speed, using all his arm strength to find out who the people were and who the boat belonged to. The two people remained talking, getting increasingly close to each other. Finally, after about 20 seconds of frenzied rowing, Jake had come close enough and now easily recognized that the person on the dock was Lorraine. But who the other person was he had no idea. But he had a bad feeling he knew exactly who it was. Sure enough, Jake's suspicions were proved true as he registered the boat as the Hanson's. The same one they saw the day they met the wretched family. The driver at the wheel was most definitely Marshall, as Jake pieced it all together, but what made it worse was that despite even hanging out with the family enemy, right before Lorraine left she hopped onto the boat again and the two kissed. Kissed. And Lorraine hopped back onto the dock, oblivious to the fact that she was being watched, and skipped merrily into the house as Marshall revved the engine and jetted away from the house. It took Jake another full minute to dock the boat and storm up to the house, and by then Lorraine was just emerging from the kitchen into the living room with a cherry popsicle in hand. She looked to be almost smiling, as if relating her day with Marshall. "Seriously, Lorraine?" Jake slammed the door behind him, getting a small jump out of Lorraine and a vicious glare from Kim, who Jake just noticed on the couch, nose deep in a book. Lorraine eyed him albeit nervously. "What?" "What? I catch you fraternizing with the enemy and that's all you've got to say?!" Jake's voice was raised already, and he couldn't tell if it was from newly-fledged anger or the lion inside him had awoken once again. Or perhaps not even slept at all. The sound of Jake's voice drew other family members from the shallows and corners of the house. Henry and Charlie were both at the top of the stairs looking down. Jessica peeked her head around the corner from down the hallway. Mike and Mark swung open the kitchen door out of curiosity, blue and purple popsicles in hand. "Jake, stop." Lorraine warned, all too aware of all the people that were eavesdropping. "What did you see?" Piped up Kim, now deeply intrigued in learning new information about the situation in front of her rather than information in her book. "Lorraine kissed Marshall. She hung out with him, presumably. But she kissed the enemy." Jake glowered at his sister, too angry at everyone to care if he was making a big deal or scene out of it all. "What the hell, Lorraine?" Henry gawked. "Do you not remember everything he did at the party?" Other sounds of protest filled the room as the kids announced their clear dislike towards the situation. Lorraine backed away from everyone, trying to fix things. "I know he did some pretty mean things at the party, I know. But he's really nice once you get to know him. He was sweet to me." "If that's all the excuse you have then it's not enough." Jake crossed his arms. "He's the enemy, Lorraine! He broke up Sarah and Elliot." "He was not the one to break them up! They did it themselves!" Lorraine protested back. However, the other kids were beginning to shout in agreement with Jake and it was clear that she was outnumbered. "Whatever." Jake spat, annoyance thick in his voice. "What's clear is one thing: he is the enemy. He doesn't even like you! No offense, but he's not the person to get crushes on the first pretty girl he sees. He's in it for one thing, and if not that then he's trying to get back at us for fighting him at the party." "You don't even know him!" Lorraine shouted in exasperation. Henry spoke up. "Jake's right. Marshall is not to be trusted. And you neither if you've decided to date the enemy." And with that he stormed off. Mike and Mark followed after him, copying their older brother as they disappeared back into the kitchen. And as if in a domino effect, Jessica and Charlie and all the rest of the kids retreated as well back into the depths of the house. Jake gave Lorraine one last glare before bounding up the stairs to Sarah's room, not wanting to be near Lorraine for any second longer. Sarah was exactly as Jake had left her, staring out the window with her legs tucked under her on the window seat, a book in her hands that remained on the same page she was on 3 hours ago. Jake sighed and took a seat next to her. Sarah's eyes remained unmoving, and whether she knew he was there or not she took no notice and didn't move to acknowledge him. Her thumbs absentmindedly brushed the corner page of her book. She was obviously not in the mood to talk. As a matter of fact, she hadn't wanted to talk ever since that night at the party. So instead of pressing her to talk, to speak whatever was racing through her mind that knitted her eyebrows together and etched a permanent frown on her face, Jake looked out the window as she did and tried to recollect his breath. He had been doing a lot of fighting lately, and the lion he had awoken was not going to sleep anytime soon. He just wanted to take a nap. Jake sighed, breaking the silence. "You know, at first I thought this vacation was gonna be good for us. But now, lately, it's only been tearing this family apart." Bad ending, I know. And the whole Lorraine part was rushed, but I'm sleepy and I was tired of writing angry Jake all the time. He's been angry a lot lately, and this is only the beginning… from here it goes downhill ;) But for right now, Lorraine is now being ignored by the family. It seems a bit stupid all for one kiss, but if your sister kissed the guy that pushed your little 7 year old brother to the ground you'd be mad to. Oh well, hope you guys like this chapter! 


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